The Columbus Redevelopment Commission is working to close its property deal with Bartholomew County and hopes to move forward with development plans soon.
The commission voted Monday to transfer ownership of a parcel at First Street and Lafayette Avenue to the Bartholomew County commissioners. The transfer is part of the city and county’s property-swap agreement regarding the new Bartholomew County Court Services building at 555 First St. and plans for a new hotel conference center.
Columbus Redevelopment Commission purchased property at 555 First St., demolished the existing structure, and agreed to contribute $1.5 million to the construction of the county’s new court services building. The county agreed to pick up the remainder of the cost, which is approximately $2 million.
As part of the deal, the county receives the new court services building and a small parking lot. Redevelopment Director Heather Pope reported that the county has moved into the new building.
In return, the city will receive the county-owned block surrounded by Second, Franklin, Third and Lafayette streets. Plans are to eventually tear down the current court services building (the former Elks Club at 507 Third St.) and utilize the empty block for a future hotel and conference center.
The resolution approved by the commission transfers “Lot 3A of the Second Replat of Lot 2a at the corner of Lafayette and First Street” to the county commissioners. The 0.88 acre tract is across the street from the new court services building and provides additional parking for county employees as part of the agreement.
According to the resolution, the lot was “inadvertently omitted” from previous property transfers that occurred for the project and was subsequently transferred on Nov. 17.
Pope estimated that there about 70 parking spaces in this lot.
“But when you combine all of the parcels that we’ll be giving them, they’ll have more parking than they currently have, which is around 240,” she added.
The commission’s agreement with the county also includes allowing their employees to park up to 100 vehicles, on weekdays, in a new parking garage that will be constructed as part of the hotel conference center project.
In giving an update on the hotel project, Pope mentioned that the city is pursuing funds for environmental remediation.
“Now that we will soon be owning the property of 215 Franklin St. and 507 Third St., which is the old probation site, I’ve been working with the Indiana Finance Authority to use POSI (Petroleum Orphan Sites Initiative) funds, because there is believed to be an underground storage tank, an abandoned underground storage tank, on that site,” she said. “And so we will be using those funds to remediate that site.”
The city will then look at demolition options and work with the county so that employees are not suddenly all displaced at the same time. This may include utilizing part of the site while also allowing some parking by county employees until the city is ready for “serious groundbreaking.”
Sprague Hotel Developers, the city’s development partner, previously put the hotel conference center project on hold in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry. The commission decided this past spring to engage Hunden Strategic Partners to complete a $21,600 update to their previous market and feasibility study for a downtown hotel and conference center.
The firm presented its findings in June and recommended that the city should move forward with the project and also consider expanding its scope. This information was shared with Sprague Hotel Developers.
Pope said Monday that the Spragues’ attorneys are continuing to look over the project agreement for the hotel conference center, and she hopes that the matter will be on the commission’s agenda in December.
