Written by Jill Nolin
The Montgomery City Council sold off another of the city-owned properties in downtown on Tuesday, bringing the total number of properties sold in the lower Dexter Avenue redevelopment effort up to four.
The City Council
voted to sell 58 Dexter Ave. to two Montgomery men who plan to demolish the back portion of the building and
redevelop it as a mixed-use development. The property, which was last appraised at $138,000, was sold for $30,000.
The city, which purchased about a dozen properties for $3.2 million with state bond money, has been selling the properties at a discounted rate as a way of offering an economic development incentive.
And the two men who intend to redevelop 58 Dexter Ave. were clear: If the city had not purchased this particular property and agreed to sell it at an affordable price, this project would not happen.
Scott Williams, an architect, said he and real estate broker Steve Hughes attempted to redevelop this same property in 2008 but were unable to acquire the building because of the owner's high asking price.
"Every time we showed up, he went up (on the price). So we quit showing up," Williams said after the City Council work session Tuesday afternoon.
Because the Washington Avenue parking deck construction project created drainage problems for 58 Dexter Ave., the work at the site will be complicated. The two men said
they plan to demolish the back portion of the two-story building and rebuild it as a three- or four-story building.
Mayor Todd Strange said after the meeting that he thought the qualifications of Hughes and Williams added a greater sense of legitimacy to the Dexter Avenue redevelopment project.
"I think this (project) just validates what the vision is," Strange said, adding that the project was "one more piece of the puzzle."
Chad Emerson, director of development for the city, said this latest project would be
the most extensive and expensive of the projects so far. Hughes and Williams declined to say Tuesday how much they thought they might invest in property.
Since the building does not have a protected historic designation, the entire building could be torn down, but Williams and Hughes said they are restoring the façade because they want to be "good neighbors." The façade will have the appearance of a 1940s-era building.
Also, the men noted that the original building was actually destroyed in a fire in the 1930s.
Tenants for the building have not been selected yet, but Williams said they would attempt to resume discussions with the potential tenants that expressed an interest two years ago. They did, however, say that
the first floor would likely be
either retail or a restaurant and the rest would likely be a combination of residential and office space.
The partial demolition of the building will start within the next six months and will take about 30 days. Construction is expected to take from 10 to 12 months, depending on the needs of the tenants.
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