The Habersham County Development Authority is increasing pressure on a developer who purchased two lots in the Airport Business Park, demanding that they either begin construction or potentially return the properties within around 30 days.
The parcels, located on prime real estate in the park, have sat idle for over two years despite initial plans for development.
About two years ago, the Hutchinson organization acquired lots five and seven in the Airport Business Park for $45,000 per usable acre, totaling 12 usable acres. Now, more than 27 months have passed with no visible progress, prompting the development authority to consider reclaiming the land at its next meeting in April.
If the authority decides to take action, it may involve repurchasing the land for $500,000—an outcome board members have expressed a desire to avoid.
During Habersham County’s Development Authority meeting Thursday, March 13, Executive Director of Partnership Habersham Charlie Fiveash confirmed a letter had been sent to the developer, who has allegedly indicated plans to build a “smaller building” than initially proposed.
“Those are some empty promises at this point,” Fiveash said. “…he has officially been put on notice. We’ll see how he responds, and then we’ll proceed – whether he wants to sell those sites back to the authority. Do we really want to burn our cash? Because those are two fairly sizable tracts. We always have to remember what our end game is. It’s not to sell sites. It’s for capital investment here within the community – that means jobs creation, capital investment and balancing our tax base.”
Habersham County Development Authority Chairman Jim Butterworth echoed those concerns, stating he’d heard the developer had perhaps offered the properties for a higher price to a potential buyer – a likely violation of the agreement made with the authority.
“That’s inappropriate,” Butterworth said. “We’d have first right of refusal. It can’t be sold for a profit after coming to an agreement that there’s going to be sites and structures built on it, and then 28-29 months later sold for a profit … it’s time to fish or cut bait.”
Officials said during the meeting additional covenants could come in phase II of the business park to prevent such issues in the future.
Before entering executive session, Butterworth said he’s hoping for progress on the properties in the next 30 days – as opposed to a potential buyback, which officials would rather avoid at this point in the deal.
“We want to get some activity going,” Butterworth said. “The idea is to build structures and create jobs and increase the tax base. That’s the goal.”
