Council members approved tax abatements for two projects that are each expected to invest millions in the city — Gallatin Apartments and Horner’s Butcher Block.
Tim Eckerle, Grant County Economic Growth Council executive director, said Gallatin Apartments requested an abatement to rehabilitate and construct apartments at 239 W. Third St., 304 S. Gallatin St., 316 S. Gallatin St. and 314 W. Fourth St.
Affordable Housing Corp. has acquired the Danmar and Cecilian apartments, as well as the Mecca Club building, which the city owns. All have been vacant for years and are in poor condition.
The Danmar building is to be demolished because of issues with the structure, green space and parking, Eckerle said. A new building will be constructed, but he and Affordable Housing Executive Director Jacquie Dodyk couldn’t give the council members details on the new construction.
Dodyk said it will depend on what fits in the space and looks right.
Council member Paul Thompson, D-at-large, questioned why the members were even discussing a project they don’t know anything about. Though he said he wasn’t opposed to the project, he wanted more information. His business, which he doesn’t own, is located by the three empty buildings.
Eckerle asked the council members to trust them, and Dodyk said she would have more answers after a Nov. 1 deadline.
“I need to start this process right now,” she said.
The Mecca and Cecilian buildings will be renovated into living units, creating at least one job. There will be 16 apartments in the Cecilian building and four in the Mecca structure.
Eckerle said the project will be taxable.
Seybold also spoke in favor of the project, saying that Affordable Housing is turning three abandoned buildings in the downtown area into three “really nice properties.”
According to abatement documents, the units will have two or three bedrooms and two baths, with amenities, including washers and dryers. Completion of the project is expected to be October 2015. There will be an estimated $7 million in structural improvements.
Horner’s requested a tax break on the property at 825 E. 30th St.
Eckerle said Verlin and Tenley Horner are building a new 10,000 square foot grocery store and will add a minimum of five new employees at the store.
Verlin Horner was at the meeting and said he expected work to begin in October, and construction on the inside would continue through the winter. He hoped to have the store open in late winter or early spring.
“We would continue as much as possible as normal,” he said of business in the current structure.
The Horners own the store, as well as two houses adjacent to the property and a lot. The new building would be behind the existing one and would be wider. He estimated it’ll be about twice the size of the current store.
Abatement documents show the estimated value on the new building would be $1.5 million. It will be the first sizeable new investment in the 30th Street neighborhood in a number of years, according to the document.
“This is a project we’ve worked on for quite a while now,” Horner said.
The recent closing of another grocery store nearby motivated them to speed up the process. The business has been open since 1995, he said.
Both tax breaks approved are on real estate property, not personal property like equipment. The requested abatements would, over a 10-year period, phase in property taxes on the increased assessed value of the properties.
Whitticker voted against both abatements, though she said she was in favor of the grocery store project. She said she believes the abatements should be for five years instead of 10 because of the financial situation the city is in. Other projects, like infrastructure in the city, are more important, she said.