Depot terms could be renegotiated

Developers of downtown Augusta's Riverfront at the Depot project said they are open to renegotiating some of the project's terms that so far have been stumbling blocks to winning Augusta Commission approval.

The Downtown Development Authority, developer Bloc Global, commissioners and the mayor met behind closed doors for more than two hours Monday in an effort to resolve differences over the project.

"There are some points that the commission is still hesitant about," Commissioner Bobby Williams said. "I did ask if (the developers) were willing to renegotiate some of the parts of the contract, and they did say they were."

Up for negotiation would include the "level of financial commitment" by each party needed to move the project forward, Williams said.

"Most commissioners want more safety nets to make sure that this project happens and that it happens without us not making sure that we take care of the money for the citizens of Augusta, Ga.," he said.

Pitched as a $93 million investment in the Savannah riverfront, the level of financial commitment from the city, the DDA and Bloc has been a sticking point for several commissioners since developers revealed last year the project is to be done in two phases. The city is expected to service a $13 million DDA-issued bond up-front, while Bloc has not committed to completing the second phase. If it doesn't materialize, the city would stuck with more than one-third of the development's financing, commissioners John Clarke and Ben Hasan said.

Funds to cover the approximately $1 million annual debt service have not been identified beyond a $350,000 allocation proposed in next year's budget to cover what would be the interest-only first few years of the bond issue.

Project developers and ardent supporter Mayor Pro Tem Sean Frantom wouldn't comment on the meeting. The commission sent the developers out for the last half-hour of the meeting but took no action after the closed session.

Reaction among other commissioners was mixed.

"It took a while to get to it, but I thought we actually made a little progress," said Commissioner Brandon Garrett.

Commissioners Hasan and Marion Williams said after the discussion they remain unwilling to support the project.

Williams said the project needs more "synergy" to attract visitors other than those who live in its proposed upscale apartments. 'We did the other retail building downtown – it failed because there was no reason for folks to come down there except to go shopping, so I'm a little bit disappointed."

Downtown Augusta has undergone a significant transformation since Port Royal opened its doors in 1991, including the construction of more than 332,000 square feet of office and workspace at the Georgia Cyber Center and the opening of numerous restaurants, bars and loft-style apartments.

Developers have compared the project to Atlanta's upscale Ponce City Market, a restored historic Sears building that offers an international dining and food market, high-end retail and pop-up events in addition to office space and housing.

"We need to do something with the depot property," Williams said, but "it's too much investment for the city to make without enough documents to show what's coming out of this thing."

Clarke said the level of emotion among supporters in the closed session makes negotiations difficult. He remains opposed to the project in its current form.

"It's going back to the drawing board on a couple of things so we'll see where that stands," Clarke said. "I'm trying to do due diligence for the city of Augusta and the taxpayers and the citizens. If it's upsetting and people don't like it, that's the way the cookie crumbles."

Also a critical issue is the city's guarantee of 500 parking spaces to Unisys, located nearby in the former Port Royal. Currently the existing 200-or-so spaces occupy the same land Depot developers seek to build out. In the proposed deal, Augusta pays to build a parking garage that might serve both, while Unisys has threatened litigation if the city doesn't provide the spaces.

"We've got a commitment to Unisys – we need to solve the parking problem. It should have been solved first; not in the middle, not at the tail end," he said.

Commissioner Dennis Williams said parking for Unisys is integral to the deal moving forward.

"Without Unisys signing on, I don't think there will be a project at all," he said.

Williams said project details still must be worked out.

"It was interesting – we got a little more detail but nothing to write home about," he said. "It's growing on me a little bit, but we still have to work out some kinks."

City General Counsel Wayne Brown defended the decision to hold the meeting behind closed doors under the state open meeting exception for real estate.

"It involves an interest in real estate that may be disposed of or acquired," Brown said.

While an earlier project agreement named the city's price to sell the six-acre Depot tract, minus the depot, to the DDA for $1.85 million, project details remain "up in the air," he said. "No property has changed hands and it's not certain that it will change hands."