The Columbus Redevelopment Authority is considering applying for a grant through the Mississippi Department of Transportation to build sidewalks and street lamps in the Burns Bottom Redevelopment Project.
City Engineer Kevin Stafford presented the idea to the board Wednesday morning. He told board members the Transportation Alternative Program grant could possibly be awarded to the authority for the five-block area near the Lowndes County Soccer Complex — between Third and Fourth streets and Second and Seventh avenues North.
“You’re going to have sidewalks and things of that nature in your development that this grant could pay for now,” Stafford said. “The redevelopment authority had been looking for grant opportunities left and right. What I was doing today was telling them because they have sidewalks that connect up to the soccer complex.”
CRA president Marthalie Porter told The Dispatch the grant would defray a portion of the total road and sidewalk costs still necessary for the project and potentially make it look more attractive to prospective developers.
“This would certainly take a lot of that off of a developer,” Porter said. “The infrastructure would be a part of what we would be able to get the CRA to get completed, which makes it a lot more attractive to any potential developers.”
If the CRA decides to apply for the grant, it could receive anywhere between $500,000 to $1 million, depending on MDOT approval. CRA would pay a 20-percent match to whatever funds are provided.
Stafford said the applications have historically opened up in the later part of the year and funds are awarded within the first quarter of the following year. At that point, the CRA would begin designing where the sidewalks would go and then open a bidding process for the work.
In February, the CRA asked the City of Columbus for $1 million from its American Recovery Plan Act money for a portion of the infrastructure work, but that request was denied. The CRA is still seeking $6.4 million to complete road, sidewalks, broadband, sewer and water work.
It needs at least $1.6 million for the road and sidewalk work, though both Stafford and Porter said that cost has likely increased since it was determined in 2021. If funds cannot be obtained via the grant, the CRA will continue with the plan to include those costs in any request for proposals from developers.
In addition to the grant, the CRA is also looking to apply for funds from the Appalachian Regional Commission for some of the commercial lots in the project area, but no grants have been applied for at this time, Porter said.
The board on Wednesday did not take action on the two adjacent lots in Burns Bottom for which it received a commercial letter of intent in October. The board reviewed the letter and sent back counter terms and conditions, and is still waiting to hear back from the prospective buyer.
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.
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