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Demorest DDA hears $7.15 million in GDOT grants and discusses TAD-funded sewer for Arrendale Interchange
Summary
At its March 5 meeting the Demorest Downtown Development Authority heard a City Council update that two Georgia Department of Transportation grants were approved and a third is pending, totaling $7.15 million; directors also discussed a proposed Tax Allocation District to finance an estimated $9–10 million sewer expansion for development at the Arrendale Interchange.
The Demorest Downtown Development Authority on March 5 received a City Council update on several grant applications and a potential infrastructure plan for the Arrendale Interchange.
Shawn Allen, reporting the City Council update, said the city applied for three grants through the Georgia Department of Transportation. Allen said two grants have been approved — one for streetscaping (Hazel, Georgia Street and nearby corridors) and one for lighting and power work in the park and around city hall — and a third application remains pending. He said the three GDOT applications together total $7.15 million and require no city match.
Allen also reported that additional grant funding would provide a new surface and equipment for the playground.
Directors discussed a proposed development on land at the Arrendale Interchange by the Irvin family that could include restaurants, retail, a hotel and medical offices. Shawn Allen said sewer expansion for that development is estimated at $9–10 million and that the city is considering a Tax Allocation District (TAD) so taxes from properties in a designated district could be used to fund sewer infrastructure.
Allen said the plan would require annexation of the area into the City of Demorest, even though the property is roughly four miles from the city limits, and that annexation could be facilitated if the Irvins donate land. He added that state-level approval would be required before the issue could go to Demorest voters and that the City Council has submitted a proposal to State Representative Bo Hatchett.
No formal DDA vote was recorded on the TAD or annexation at the March 5 meeting; directors discussed the proposal and noted the sequence of approvals — state review followed by a voter decision — that would be needed before any project-financing plan could proceed.
