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Council directs retreat of city authorities to coordinate reuse of city-owned properties identified in 50 Worst Properties program
Summary
Council voted to reconvene a retreat of the city's authorities and task forces to develop a plan for city-owned properties identified under the "50 Worst Properties" program, including potential partnerships with nonprofits and corporate supporters and exploring making properties available to city employees.
Councilmembers directed staff on April 21 to convene a retreat bringing together the citymanager's office, all city authorities (downtown development, business/industrial development, building authority, Urban Redevelopment Agency), the blighted-property task force, the downtown architectural overlay review board and members of the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GIC) to discuss reuse and redevelopment of properties the city holds under the "50 Worst Properties" program.
City Manager Rhett Jones and staff briefed the council on an inventory of city-owned parcels assembled as part of a review of the program. Deputy staff collected property records and photographs for multiple addresses the city currently holds by deed or quick-claim, including 2570 Blunt Street; 1101 Glendale Drive; 2431 Jefferson Terrace; 1346 Lyle Avenue; 1407 Pine Avenue; 1866 West Taylor Avenue; and a roughly six-acre tract at 1981 West Woodbury Avenue.
Councilmember Star Cummings proposed a motion to reconvene the Urban Redevelopment Agency and to gather all the city's authorities and related agencies so they could coordinate on options including partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, HouseProud, corporate partners and potential employee-homeownership programs. Cummings said the aim included exploring how to make homeownership achievable for city employees and first responders.
Councilmembers discussed boundaries of the redevelopment area and overlap among authorities; staff noted that the Urban Redevelopment Agency had been designated in earlier resolutions and likely still exists but had not met. Council voted to convene a retreat to allow agencies and task forces to coordinate strategy and to set a special-call meeting to set the retreat date.
No specific property dispositions were decided; staff will return with a recommended meeting date, an updated inventory and legal/title reviews for properties where chain-of-title is unclear.
