Columbus is preparing to sell land at Second Street and Lafayette Avenue to developer Flaherty & Collins for the downtown mixed-use development project.
The land is now owned by the Columbus Redevelopment Commission. Redevelopment Director Heather Pope said the city hopes to close the deal by the end of this year.
The commission has committed to contribute “land, cash and a bond to be valued at some $11.8 million” to the estimated $40 million project. City officials have said in the past that the development’s property tax dollars will go to repay the bond. The developer, Flaherty & Collins, will pay about 70% of the project cost.
At the commission’s July 26 meeting, Pope noted that no bids had been received on the property.
Before offering the land at minimal cost to the developer as promised, the commission had to go through an offering process, said Bruce Donaldson with Barnes and Thornburg.
Per a resolution approved in February, the commission was required to prepare an offering sheet with a price of no less than the average of two appraisals — in this case, about $1.3 million, according to Donaldson. The city was also required to give public notice of the offering.
Since no offers were received by July 26 (the date scheduled for opening bids), this meant that the city would be able to sell the land to Flaherty & Collins at a lower cost after a minimum of 30 days had passed.
Other parts of the project are also moving forward. Pope said at the commission’s Aug. 16 meeting that American Structurepoint, the design team for the project, has filed an application with the planning department. After getting local permit approval, they will move on to seeking state approval.
She added that American Structurepoint is continuing conversations with Indiana Brownfields on environmental mitigation at the site of the former Bob’s Car Wash. The commission has also engaged August Mack Environmental to assist in brownfield remediation.
