- April 25, 2024
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Wayne Grant
Staff Writer
City Commissioners were set to swap property on West Granada Boulevard for a lot on Lincoln Avenue with developer Bill Jones at their meeting on April 7 until Commissioner Bill Partington objected to the way the vote was brought to the commission.
Partington said he didn’t know city staff was going to ask that “prime Granada property” be traded for another property until Good Friday when city offices were closed.
“Residents haven’t had a chance to comment,” he said. He said other ideas could have been brought forward, such as using the building on Granada Boulevard as a veterans museum.
None of the other commissioners objected to the vote. Commissioner James Stowers pointed out that the matter was set to be decided at a publicly-noticed meeting.
However, the officials decided to put off the decision to a future meeting, most likely April 21.
The city-owned building, the former site of Halifax Urban Ministries, is at 164 W. Granada Blvd. It would be swapped for a lot at 64 Lincoln Ave., owned by Wivigeco LLC, a Bill Jones company. Jones has redeveloped several properties along Granada Boulevard, including the recently-opened 31 on the Boulevard and The Grind Gastropub.
Dorian Burt, assistant to Jones, told the commissioners that Jones planned to construct a two-story building on the site, with retail on the bottom and apartments on the second floor, in the style of some properties in St. Augustine.
The city would use the vacant land from Jones on Lincoln Ave. for storm water retention, needed for the New Britain drainage basin. Improvements would include a passive park. Documents from the city show that the city’s storm water master plan calls for improvement in that area of the city.
The item was about to be approved in the consent agenda, but Partington pulled it for discussion.
He said he didn’t know if there were any issues, or if any residents objected.
“It was decided by staff,” he said.
Commissioner Troy Kent said he would not have pulled it from the consent agenda, but understood that Partington wanted more time.
Mayor Ed Kelley said he thought the swap would be a win-win for the city. He said it would be better for the city to have a business create something of value on the Granada site than to have another nonprofit operation there. He pointed out that the building is in very bad shape and a lot of money would be needed for refurbishment.
“We need property for drainage. It seems logical,” he said.
Commissioner Rick Boehm said he believed there was enough supporting material in the agenda to make a decision, and he did not see a reason to delay the vote.
Kent made a motion to continue the matter. The commission voted to consider it at a future meeting, with Kelley and Boehm voting no.
