Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 being “a strange year,” Mount Airy officials are launching an initiative for redevelopment efforts on the former Spencer’s textile mill property downtown.
It is targeting the Sparger Building — a large baby blue structure on Willow Street amid the sprawling site the city government bought in 2014 after years of infant apparel manufacturing there — and other property on Franklin Street nearby which is vacant.
The process now underway involves the preparation of a request for proposal (RFP) document to solicit potential developers for Spencer’s property. This effort is led by Bryan Grote, a highly regarded local financial expert, who is donating his time to the city as a member of the group Mount Airy Downtown.
Grote gave an informational briefing on the RFP plan during the last meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners on July 16 and is scheduled to deliver a final draft during its next one Thursday at 2 p.m.
It lists existing opportunities as the historic rehabilitation of the Sparger Building and surrounding property, with a hotel preferred on the site, and new construction on the Franklin Street frontage property with a residential use preferred.
Flexibility desired
However, new commissioners who have been in office only since December — after years of controversies surrounding the Spencer’s project — said during the July 16 meeting that they aren’t married to the idea of a hotel for the Sparger Building.
Tom Koch, one of three freshmen on the five-member group, said his preference is for a hotel, but city officials should be open to other uses for that structure including residential.
“Why limit it?” Koch asked. “I’d rather leave it open.”
Commissioner Ron Niland also said he favored the flexibility the RPF plan offers.
Steve Yokeley, one of the two veteran council members, agreed. “There are a lot of creative people out there and it may be something different (than a hotel).”
However, the other long-serving commissioner, Jon Cawley, who has been part of the redevelopment effort since the beginning and a frequent critic of it — often on the losing end of 3-2 votes on various steps — supports the hotel use.
“I’ve been through a lot with this property,” Cawley said, citing millions of dollars spent on infrastructure and other improvements on the site so far.
If the Sparger Building does not become a hotel but some kind of residential facility, “we will never justify the money that has been spent,” he remarked, due to new jobs and other factors.
Cawley asked if there is any serious interest in the latter.
Grote replied that several inquiries have been made regarding the Sparger structure, including one “major” entity eyeing a residential development there.
He said this boils down to a policy decision of the board, with the request for proposal process a mechanism to bring that about.
“If the city wants a hotel, put that expectation out there,” Grote added. “Make that crystal-clear.”
Previous plans for the Spencer’s redevelopment have included a four-star hotel in conjunction with an expansion of the Virginia-based Barter Theatre to provide a ready-made customer base for the lodging establishment of out-of-town persons attending shows.
Those plans were abandoned in 2018 amid concerns that the Barter addition subjected Mount Airy taxpayers to undue financial risks.
Grote stayed neutral on the Barter proposal, which split the community.
“But that process was poor,” he said at the recent meeting, adding that the RFP effort at hand is designed to prevent city officials from making the kind of last-minute decisions that plagued the Barter plan.
“I want it to be right,” said Commissioner Marie Wood, another of the newer commissioners, implying that this hasn’t occurred previously to the satisfaction of local taxpayers wary of further problems with Spencer’s. “I don’t think the public can take that.”
Among other requirements for prospective developers, the RFP procedure envisioned by Grote includes demonstrating the financial capacity to make a project a reality and providing a timeline with key milestones through its completion.
An upscale apartment complex has been developed on the former Spencer’s property so far, with an events center planned by local businessman Gene Rees at a site he owns there known as the Barrel Building.
A culinary school and other educational uses are being pursued for another structure referred to as the Cube Building.
A bad time?
Similar to the proverbial elephant in the room, implications of the coronavirus are looming over further efforts regarding the Spencer’s transformation for new uses.
“The market is not normal right now,” Grote said. He acknowledged the desire of Mount Airy officials to test the water by moving ahead with the RFP plan during the remainder of 2020 — “even though it is a strange year.”
Yet the financial consultant said the present conditions could be a plus in perhaps attracting fewer developers but a better quality of project proposals while weeding out less-serious ones.
Board members are appreciative of the concept Grote has devised.
Commissioner Niland called his work “outstanding” and well-conceived. “And I appreciate it very much.”
Although he favors a hotel for the Sparger Building, Commissioner Cawley said he is happy about where the redevelopment now stands overall through Grote’s involvement.
“For the first time in a long time, I’m excited about what’s going on with the Spencer’s property.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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