Habersham County realtor Wade Rhodes is feeling a strong sense of urgency when it comes to plans for a new subdivision at 950 Industrial Boulevard in Baldwin. “CB&T (the bank) is putting pressure on the purchaser to close by the end of June,” he says. “We’re under the gun.”
As Now Habersham reported in May, the 8-acre site was supposed to be an apartment complex. Water, sewer and other infrastructure was installed before the great recession halted development on the site.
It lay dormant for a decade until last month. “I have a buyer who wants to turn it into a single-family residential neighborhood,” Rhodes explains. The proposed development, Cottages at Habersham, would consist of 25 homes priced at around $125,000 each.
In order for that to happen, the zoning on the property has to be changed to allow single-family homes. Baldwin City Council approved the first reading of that change this week but now, thanks to state law, everything is on hold for weeks. According to Baldwin Finance Director Kym Smith, “There are state criteria on the number of days it must be advertised before the public hearing and second reading.”
There is not enough time to meet the state’s 15 day advertising requirements between now and the City of Baldwin’s next scheduled meeting on June 22. City staff had planned to wait until mid-July for final approval, “I wasn’t aware there was a deadline for closing,” says Smith, “so we just went with the normal meeting dates.”
With the bank’s push for closure looming, leaders are now looking for a way to stick to the law and still get the changes done in time. “We don’t want it to be a hiccup,” Neace says. “This has been going on for several months and we don’t want to miss this opportunity.”
Rhodes says the opportunity is very real. Figures from the Norton Agency show the current housing market in Habersham County looks good for new development, “In the last 12 months about 245 homes have sold at under $149,900.” Rhodes says those figures point to “a big demand for homes in that price range in our community.”
Baldwin City Council is looking at a couple of moves to help get the new development underway quickly. They already planned for a called meeting with a representative of the USDA near the end of June to discuss financing for their sewer system. If the dates work out, they could do the public hearing on the zoning on that day as well. Mayor Neace is also writing a letter to the bank in hopes of explaining the situation and easing the pressure on the buyer.
