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Council approves 30th amendment for downtown redevelopment at 104 East Franklin (Jesse James Bank site)
Summary
The council approved an amended development plan under Chapter 353 for a redevelopment project at 104 East Franklin (the Jesse James Bank Museum). The property owner plans structural work, interior apartments and office space; the project includes a modest tax abatement tied to the investment.
The Liberty City Council unanimously approved an ordinance adopting an amended development plan and the 30th amendment to the downtown redevelopment project for 104 East Franklin Street, the parcel that houses the Jesse James Bank Museum.
Mr. Smith, a city staff presenter, described the proposal as a downtown redevelopment project under Chapter 353 and identified Old Farm Holdings LLC (the Mathis family) as the property owner in attendance. Smith told council the developer expects to invest roughly $349,000 in the project and that the city's total foregone taxes from the abatement would be just over $97,000 over the abatement term.
Smith said the abatement schedule will reduce the property's city tax contribution during the initial abatement period and then gradually return the property to the full tax rolls as improvements complete and abatement phases expire. "They won't get a 15-year tax abatement on this one with the amount of investment they put in to the project," Smith said, describing the council-approved structure.
Council members asked about work that had already begun and whether that work would count toward the project's qualification. Smith said he had coordinated with legal counsel and recommended allowing the owner to count the emergency structural and flood-related repairs; the council agreed that staff discretion to count emergency work was appropriate in this case.
During the required public hearing, Councilman Mathis (speaking from the public) described plans for upstairs apartments and exterior improvements; the property owner said there is market interest for new apartments and office tenants and confirmed structural repairs were undertaken to protect the building after wet snow and water intrusion threatened the roof structure.
The ordinance passed unanimously. The council also later approved a separate resolution granting a certificate of appropriateness for exterior improvements at 104 East Franklin, also by unanimous vote.
