A developer who purchased two lots in the Airport Business Park has responded to the Habersham County Development Authority after the board gave the company a month to begin the first phases of construction of a spec building or face a potential buyback of the land.
The parcels, located in a prime section of the park, have remained undeveloped for over two years despite initial development plans.
The Hutchinson organization acquired lots five and seven for $45,000 per usable acre – totaling 12 acres. Now, after more than 28 months without visible progress, the development authority is considering reclaiming the land. If the board proceeds with the buyback, it could repurchase the property for $500,000 – an outcome board members hope to avoid.
Grant Schmeelk, a representative of the Hutchinson organization, attributed the delay to ongoing market stagnation.
“We’ve been advocates for that (business) park since inception,” Schmeelk said. “We’ve worked with multiple folks. We’ve had a full set of plans, but it didn’t work out at the last minute. There’s been movement, but the market is stagnant. We’re definitely advocates of the area and looking forward to the partnership.”
Habersham County Development Authority Chairman Jim Butterworth said during a meeting on Thursday, March 13, that he’d heard the developer had possibly offered the properties for a higher price to a potential buyer – a likely violation of the agreement made with the authority in the covenants.
Schmeelk claimed he wasn’t aware of any such offer.
According to county documents, the covenants between the authority and the Hutchinson organization required construction of a spec building to begin within a year of purchase.
With two years now passed, the authority has the right to reclaim the land unless the developer requests an extension or moves to begin construction.
Schmeelk said his organization remains committed to economic development in Habersham’s Airport Business Park.
“We’ve got building plans,” he said. “It’s not like we haven’t done anything…that’s the market. The market is what it is. We’re doing the best we can. If they’ve got an issue, they can call us.”
While officials say a letter had been sent to the developer as notification of the potential buyback, Schmeelk claimed the organization hasn’t heard from the authority.
“We’re definitely big fans of the area,” Schmeelk said. “We’d love to have more activity out of the development authority. That was the intent. We’d love to build them some buildings, but we just haven’t had the activity.”
