Council authorizes negotiation to buy 49.4‑acre Discover site for parks and athletic fields

The New Albany City Council voted 4–0 to authorize the city manager to enter into a purchase agreement for roughly 49.424 acres at 6500 New Albany Road East, commonly identified as the Discover site, in a resolution that sets a purchase cap of $15,000,000.

City staff said the parcel would be acquired to prevent incompatible development near the school district and to create space for athletic fields, parkland and future public uses. “The intent would be to acquire this in order to prevent the development of uses that might be detrimental to the school district and create an opportunity for us to partner with the school district, to create a location for athletic fields,” Stepanov said.

Stepanov told council that roughly 19 acres of the site could be developed for baseball and softball fields, with the remainder available for parks or other community uses. He said the purchase process will include an ALTA survey and an environmental review after an existing building on the site is removed.

On financing, Stepanov said the acquisition is supported by revenue from the city’s business park: “This is being funded because of the business park revenue that’s been generated,” he said, noting business‑park receipts account for a large share of the city’s income‑tax revenue.

Councilor discussion focused on sites and uses rather than on the financing mechanics. The resolution authorizes the city manager to execute purchase and due‑diligence documents and was adopted after a motion and second; council recorded four affirmative votes.

Next steps: staff will complete survey and environmental reviews during due diligence and return with documents to finalize any purchase.