The Columbus Redevelopment Authority is making its first big push for a project to revitalize city neighborhoods.
But that project may require public money from an interlocal partnership that at least one county leader says will never happen.
CRA board president John Acker formally declared to Columbus City Council on Tuesday the authority’s intent to pursue redeveloping five blocks adjacent to Burns Bottom Soccer Complex downtown. The proposed project includes blocks running east of 3rd Street North, from 7th Avenue North to 2nd Avenue North.
Acker said the redevelopment authority would now seek an independent appraisal of all lots within the project area, then seek city and county funding to purchase the lots. By state law, neither the city nor the county can pay more than the appraised value for private property.
From there, developers could bid on properties within the project area — or the entire project area, for that matter — to bring in retail or residential developments.
“We’ve not done any kind of usage study,” Acker said. “Our gut feeling when we started putting this plan together was for commercial retail. But the developers we’ve met with so far seem to think its best use may be residential.”
The council appointed a five-member redevelopment authority board in August 2014, and its aim is to improve property values and quality of life within the city’s Urban Renewal District. The council also appropriated CRA $50,000 for fiscal year 2015.
Acker said the authority thought the Burns Bottom area to be a logical starter project because it was an area of great need nestled among two recent and thriving developments — the county-owned soccer complex and the city-owned Riverside Park and Riverwalk.
‘No lack of interest’
Acker said the project area contains 68 total privately owned lots with 50 total owners, as well as a handful of county- or city-owned properties. Of the private lots, Acker said 40 are residences and 28 are vacant. What residences are there, he added, are mostly rental.
Acker indicated there is “no lack of interest” from developers in the project, telling the council on Tuesday that he hopes for “a bidding war.” He said “if all goes well” the building could begin at the project site in 18-24 months.
“We started looking at what would make an impact, and we wanted a win for Columbus,” Acker said. “We didn’t just want to buy a piece of property and put a statue on it. We wanted to build on what was already there (the soccer complex and the Riverwalk), and we also wanted to create a nice gateway to the city.
“At some point, we’ll have to have money to buy the properties,” he added. “We’re wanting a city/county partnership. We hope the county will want to be a part of this.”
A cool response
Lowndes County Board of Supervisors president Harry Sanders, however, declined the notion of such a partnership — at least for his part.
Sanders said the county had already tried to acquire properties surrounding the soccer complex from owners willing to sell, with the intent of expanding the complex into a multi-use park. Therefore, joining the city in an effort to bring private development doesn’t appeal, he said, especially if it ultimately requires eminent domain to acquire any residential property.
“The county would gladly go in on its own and buy vacant lots or lots with dilapidated houses in that area, but I’m not for kicking somebody out of their house who is not willing to sell,” Sanders said. “They (the city and CRA) want to make the entrance to town look pretty, and I agree with that. But I’ll be d***ed if I’m going to vote for apartment complexes and condominiums to go in there, and 10 years from now it will be a d*** hood. The city and county aren’t and shouldn’t be in the residential development business.”
But Acker said government acquisition of the property would be the most effective way to control — to some extent — the future of the development because the entity could choose the project’s developer and hold it to certain covenants. Otherwise, in totally private development transactions, he said the city and county would be more at the mercy of the developer.
For displaced residents, especially renters who might not have a say in whether the property where they live is sold, Acker said CRA would “hopefully” set up a fund to provide relocation relief. He said he did not know how much that fund would offer or how it would even be established.
‘Something we have to look at seriously’
Most property at the project site falls within Ward 5, where Kabir Karriem is councilman.
Karriem remains hopeful, despite Sanders’ resistance, that the city and county can strike some type of partnership for Burns Bottom. Further, he said he hopes the project can take shape without need for eminent domain or a tax increase to fund it, but he thinks all options should be on the table.
“Any time there’s a situation that can improve the quality of life in a community, it’s something we have to look at seriously,” Karriem said. “We’ve got a great soccer complex and a wonderful Riverwalk connected to that area. Now there needs to be development around it. … With a developer coming in, it could totally change the dynamics of that area. And when that time comes, I hope that all entities involved can sit down and do what’s best for everyone without putting more burden on the taxpayers.
“That said, we have a redevelopment authority that we have to support,” he added. “When they come to us with a project, we need to take every avenue and look at every option to try to accomplish the goal.”
Karriem said he felt residential or retail development was fine for the project, as long as it improved quality of life. He said he even supported Sanders’ park idea for some of the property, and hopefully county and city leaders could “sit down together” and “find a happy medium.”
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith did not return calls and messages for comment on Thursday or Friday.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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