Former Golden Triangle Development LINK employee Brenda Lathan has been selected to fill a vacant board seat at the Columbus Redevelopment Authority.
The Columbus City Council appointed Lathan to the board Tuesday after considering her and two other applicants, Bill Strauss and Jay Patel.
The board seat is a 5-year term, and Lathan will start Wednesday at the CRA’s monthly meeting. She replaces Robert Rhett, who resigned from the board in July.
Lathan was senior vice president of economic development at the LINK from 1999 to 2019, working on projects to develop and bring large industry to the area.
Lathan told The Dispatch she believes her work with developers over her career will prove a valuable asset to the CRA board.
“People have approached me over the years since I’ve retired about serving on that board,” Lathan said. “I think my experience and economic development, mostly industrial and retail development, will enable me to help the board move forward.”
The board consists of four other members, including president Marthalie Porter, Jason Spears, Dennis Erby and Chris Chain.
Porter said she is glad to see Lathan join the board and believes her background in economic development will assist to further the Burns Bottom redevelopment project — a five-block project in a blighted area near downtown for which CRA seeks to draw mixed-use development — as well as future endeavors.
“I think Brenda is going to bring her own expertise, energy and enthusiasm to the board,” Porter said. “Her time and effort will be a valuable piece of the puzzle for us as we work on completing a deal (for Burns Bottom), getting things going on that and then continuing to grow.”
The CRA was established in 2015 to target redevelopment in the city’s urban renewal zone, which includes Burns Bottom. The city council in 2017 approved issuing a $3.2 million bond for CRA for land acquisition, site prep and marketing in Burns Bottom.
It also completed the sale of the old Lee Middle School to the Military Lee LLC for $450,000 in June 2018, which was developed for the Lofts at Lee.
Mayor Keith Gaskin said the council moved to appoint Lathan over the other applicants because of her unique experience.
“We were pleased to have all three of their applications, but Ms. Lathan kind of rose to the top because of her 20-plus years as a senior vice president with economic development for the Golden Triangle,” Gaskin said.
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