Statesboro City Council’s agenda for the 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, regular meeting includes the proposed award of $197,000 in South Main Tax Allocation District funds to assist private developers with an almost $6.5 million project, known as 1803 East, around 19 Gordon St.
Other large dollar-value items on the agenda include a $225,300 purchase of five patrol vehicles, at $45,060 each from J.C. Lewis Ford for the Statesboro Police Department and an application for a $366,516 state grant toward the city’s resurfacing of Zetterower Avenue, a project with a total estimated cost of almost $1.37 million.
The 1803 East project will create 35 residential units on a 3-acre tract at 17 Gordon St., according to the TAD funding application submitted by GPB Development LLC, which lists Mitchell Ball as property manager, David Pearce as contractor and Chris Gohagan as attorney.
Presenting the proposal to the Downtown TAD Committee on Oct. 9, Gohagan said the site was previously a blighted housing area with an abandoned playground. He noted that the city in 2014 targeted the area as prime for redevelopment.
The private development’s total cost is projected to be $6,475,000, with the developers reportedly putting in $1,952,227 and financing most of the remainder from conventional sources.
The requested $197,000 in TAD funds would go specifically to upgrade the exterior finishes from vinyl siding to a combination of brick and Hardie board. According the Gohagan’s presentation, the TAD contribution would cover about 45% of the cost of the exterior upgrade but only 3.3% of the cost of the total project.
The committee unanimously voted to recommend the project for TAD funding, so it now goes to City Council, whose majority vote is required for approval.
On the unrelated matter of the Zetterower Avenue resurfacing, the council may vote to authorize a formal application for a $366,515.86 Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation. That LMIG amount has already been allocated to Statesboro, according to the city staff’s memo.
Only a 30% match with local funding is required, but the city intends to far overmatch the state funding, with $1 million budgeted from Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenue, thus making a total of $1,366,515.86 available for resurfacing Zetterower Avenue for 1.71 miles from Fair Road to East Parrish Street.
With a few other items also on the agenda, the council’s first regular, public meeting of November will be held in the usual place at City Hall, 9 a.m. Tuesday.