City officials on Monday approved a purchase agreement for the former site of the Bartholomew County Highway Garage.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission approved a resolution to sign off on an agreement for the 6-acre facility at 2452 State St. for $1.075 million, with closing costs capped at $25,000.
The expense is still subject to approval by Columbus City Council members because it is a city expenditure greater than $500,000.
Redevelopment officials emphasized they haven’t made a determination yet about what to do with the property, but have noted in recent months that it could be a potential site of some sort of housing development.
The city has expressed on-and-off interest in purchasing the site since at least 2018.
The price was based off the average of two assessments of the land and building east of Gladstone Avenue, between State Street and Illinois Avenue, redevelopment officials said.
The Bartholomew County Commissioners signed a letter of intent regarding the agreement in August, stipulating that the county will continue to have access to the salt and sand storage facilities there until Oct. 1, 2025.
The county is in the midst of designing and constructing similar facilities at their new garage, located off East 25th Street, east of Petersville.
Director of Redevelopment Heather Pope said the property was identified as one “ripe for redevelopment” and tacked on that a number of developers looking to build affordable or workforce housing had been reaching out about it.
That’s because it’s likely to score high if a developer were to apply for federal low-income tax credits for a project on the site, increasing the chances they are actually awarded and the reality of an affordable or workforce housing project coming together, according to city officials.
The city is currently waiting to find out in November if the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA) will award 9% federal low-income tax credits for Thrive Alliance’s Haw Creek Meadows project and 4% federal low-income tax credits for TWG Development’s Flats on 14th.
“Now I don’t know if that’s which way we’ll go,” Pope said. “But right now, as we heard from our new consultant Sasaki, if we own the property we’re already halfway there as far as development and moving it along quicker.”
Redevelopment President Al Roszczyk observed “the property desperately needs redeveloped” and “most likely has some type of contamination on it.”
The appraisals showed pictures of “barrels of something” so it will probably require some sort of clean-up, per Roszczyk.
If there happens to be any sort of ground contamination, Roszczyk said they have remediation cost funds they could apply for “if there happens to be anything under it.”
Depending on how things play out, Roszczyk noted that they could always end up selling the asset if they don’t find a use that makes sense.
Council Member Tom Dell, D-at-large, told the commission, “It’s a strategic property on the east side of Columbus that could really spur on a lot more development, (and) by us having it in our inventory it allows us to be a partner with any developer.”
