City officials are taking steps to sell two parcels of riverfront property to Moravec Realty.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission has approved a resolution authorizing the disposal of property at 15 Brown Street and “46 E and Water Street” in downtown Columbus. Together, the parcels add up to about 3.5 acres.
“This is property that is south of the railroad tracks along Water Street,” said Redevelopment Director Heather Pope. “We have two parcels there that the city of Columbus transferred to us. I believe it was in 2020. And the intent of that transfer is for the redevelopment commission to be able to start preparing the site for development.”
The two parcels are part of an agreement between the redevelopment commission and Moravec Realty, she said.
In December of 2020, the commission purchased property at 555 First St. from Moravec for $555,000 so that the new Bartholomew County court services building could be constructed at the site.
The commission contributed to this construction project as part of a property swap deal with the county in order to obtain a downtown block surrounded by Second, Franklin, Third and Lafayette streets for construction of a new hotel conference center.
Stan Gamso, who was the commission’s attorney at the time, said that the purchase agreement for 555 First St. also gave Moravec the option to purchase the two riverfront parcels for $300,000.
However, the commission must first offer the land for sale to anyone that is interested, said Pope.
“Under Indiana law, in order to dispose of real property, there’s a general process that you have to go through,” said Bradley Bingham with Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg.
According to the approved resolution, the redevelopment commission will begin by seeking two appraisals of the riverfront property. They will then solicit bids to purchase the property at a price no less than the average of the two appraisals.
Additionally, the resolution states that, “The offering sheet shall specify that the successful bidder must meet development requirements for the real estate that are consistent with the plan and the comprehensive plan of development for the City of Columbus, and may contain other requirements as determined by the officers and staff of the commission that will promote the highest and best use of the real estate.”
If the commission determines that no acceptable bids have been received, they will then be authorized to negotiate a sale with a “qualified prospect” on whatever terms and conditions are deemed appropriate, consistent with the commission’s economic development plan for the area. However, the commission must wait 30 days after the opening of any written offers before it can sell the property for less than the price previously shown on the offering sheet.
Bingham said that, in the event the commission receives any proposals from interested buyers, these will be opened at the May 15 meeting.
In discussing the land, Pope said that the commission is still working with the Louisville & Indiana Railroad on “straightening out” some property line issues at the site.
“We’ve worked with Indiana Finance Authority on some environmental issues,” she said. “We’ve gotten some appraisals, all of which are things that fall under the redevelopment’s purview as we start preparing the site for disposal. And so, to Brad’s point, this is just the next step in that process.”
