The Columbus Redevelopment Authority acquired an option to purchase the S.D. Lee Middle School property on Military Road, a move which the Columbus Municipal School District board unanimously approved at a special-called meeting Wednesday.
The $1 option gives the CRA the right to market the property to private developers through July 20, 2017, though the CRA can also purchase an extension through July 20, 2018, for another $1. CRA plans to market the property for commercial or residential development and negotiate with potential developers.
“This is a win-win situation for both the CMSD and the city of Columbus,” CMSD Board President Angela Verdell told The Dispatch. “The Redevelopment Authority has done an excellent job in sharing with the board potential options for how the Lee property can be repurposed to create long-term enhancement and tax revenue for our community.”
Lee Middle School closed its doors in 2011 when students moved to Columbus Middle School. Since then, CMSD’s board has twice eschewed interest from churches looking to buy the property.
Since churches don’t pay property taxes in Mississippi, Acker said it was much better for the school district and the city to recruit tax-generating private development for the property.
‘What we do’
Letting the CRA take the reins for marketing the property creates a strong partnership between CMSD and the Authority, CRA Board President John Acker said.
“The school board’s in the business of educating children,” he said. “They’re not really in the real estate business. That’s not what they do. … We said, ‘Let us do what we do and help you guys.’ So we’re going to market it to developers for projects.”
The CRA has spent three months and more than $10,000 studying the 14.9-acre site, according to Acker, determining the strengths and weaknesses for both the land and the former school buildings. The site offers traffic access to U.S. Highway 82, Military Road and Bluecutt Road. Plus, the land is flat, Acker said, making it easier to develop.
Mostly it’s “a big chunk of land in the middle of town,” Acker said, which makes it valuable to private developers who could build businesses or projects that pay property taxes and possibly generate sales taxes.
The CRA will solicit proposals for development projects at the site. The Authority will then choose a developer, who will be responsible for shouldering the costs of all the site work.
The school buildings themselves have asbestos which is often expensive to remove, Acker said. But under the Mississippi Economic Redevelopment Act, the state reimburses developers the costs of cleaning up asbestos-filled properties up to two and a half times cleanup costs over up to 15 years.
Acker did not say how much cleanup and development of the site will cost. It depends on what the developer wants to do, Acker said, and whether the developer intends to use the buildings or tear them down.
There are no developers lined up to bid for the site right now, Acker said.
Built in 1953, the school had a long history as a high school until 1993 when the last senior class graduated and it became Lee Middle School.
In May 2012, the CMSD board adopted a resolution determining the Lee Middle School property was surplus property the district no longer needed.
CRA history
Columbus City Council appointed the autonomous, five-member CRA board in August 2014, and the Authority’s aim is to improve property values and quality of life within the city’s Urban Renewal District.
The city has appropriated $50,000 to the CRA in each of the last two fiscal years, city Chief Financial Officer Milton Rawle said, and plans to allot the organization another $50,000 next year.
CRA members include Acker, an insurance agent; property developers Mark Castleberry and Andrew Colom; certified public accountant Tommy Lott and Realtor Robert Rhett.
In 2015, the CRA stumbled in its efforts to redevelop 80 properties in five blocks for a residential revitalization project in Burns Bottom, near downtown and adjacent to the soccer complex. The project required a the city and Lowndes County to partner to purchase dilapidated properties. The county refused to participate.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.