Last Monday night, the council discussed a development agreement with High Point Custom Homes to sell the land - off North Mechanic Street between New and Pleasant streets in the Pleasant Square neighborhood - for $50,000, to be paid as buildings in the development are completed over four years.
The city would also forgive half the property tax on the project for 10 years.
The city also commits to spending up to $250,000 turning a vacant lot between Broadway Avenue and the town homes into a walking path, connecting it to the development corridor leading south to the downtown district and north past the Broadway Barrelhouse bar-restaurant and the 511 No. Broadway development.
On May 5, builder Mike Williams, a Lebanon High graduate with several area housing developments, made a presentation to the city council.
Previously the land — a block east of Broadway, the city’s main north-south boulevard — was part of an area to be redeveloped by the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The plan also called for the church to be rebuilt to replace one demolished by a fire.
Instead, the church is planning to rebuild expanded church facilities nearby on property acquired from the city.
On May 26, Rev. Karen Schaeffer, pastor of the Bethel A.M.E. Church and supporters questioned the council and staff about the proposed deal with Williams.
Schaeffer said she and her supporters were there “to help shape the decisions that will impact the daily lives of those who live, work, and worship in the Pleasant Square neighborhood.”
The city determined the church’s original proposal, which included church facilities and housing, would run into legal problems “due to the separation of Church and State."
A second church proposal, involving Habitat for Humanity and a limited liability corporation created by the church for the project, never came to fruition.
During the May 26 discussion, City Manager Scott Brunka reminded the council that requests for qualifications for the redevelopment project “focused on market-rate development options and that the City does not believe that Habitat for Humanity meets these guidelines,” according to meeting minutes.
Bethel A.M.E. didn’t respond to the request for qualifications resulting in the city picking Williams' company, the only one to respond, for the North Mechanic Street redevelopment.
Councilwoman Wendy Monroe said she “appreciates the value that Bethel A.M.E. brought to the process and knows that there was no intention to circumvent the congregation’s efforts,” according to the minutes from the May meeting.
Schaeffer and Williams couldn’t be reached for comment on the project this week.
In response to questions about the tax implications, Brunka said, “The property has been maintained by the City for over 20 years and has not generated any tax revenue during this time period.”
“All of the Pleasant Square area, including the N. Mechanic St. property being developed, is within an existing Community Reinvestment Area,” Brunka added in an email. “These areas were established by the City over 30 years ago to encourage investment in areas that could benefit from some revitalization.”
The incentives in the area currently only relate to remodeling of existing residential structures, but would be altered to include new housing, according to Brunka.
“This incentive would be eligible for all properties within this Community Reinvestment Area. The intent of this incentive is to encourage infill development within existing areas that will provide new housing options in and around the Central Business District.”
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