Restoration work could begin in late July on two of the fire-damaged buildings on Clarkesville’s downtown square. City Council members are moving ahead with fixing up the former Sharky’s location and the former martial arts studio location next door. That part of the project is going first because leaders believe those two buildings can be restored and back in use more quickly than the other damaged properties.
Council approved sending out Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals at their meeting Monday. That means the first part of the project is officially out for bid. Next there is a state-mandated period of advertising and the consideration of the bids. Leaders expect to hire a contractor at their meeting on July 6. Work could begin within a few weeks of that vote.
“That’s only a couple of months from now,” says Mayor Terry Greene. “I think we’ve been moving very quickly but it’s not been visible. Now we’re going to have some visible work very soon.”
Much of the behind the scenes work had to do with figuring out the best way to finance the project. Initially the city looked to tax credits specifically designated for historic preservation. They quickly found out that working through the layers of approvals necessary to get that money would take a lot more time and leave the facades downtown empty for months longer. Those credits also come with the requirement that the city maintain ownership of all the buildings for 5 years which is not something leaders say they want to do.
Instead of just waiting on the Historic Tax Credits, Clarkesville City Manager Barbara Kesler is cobbling together a financing mix that includes low-interest loans and redevelopment grants from state and federal sources to pay for the first two buildings right away. Specifically, the city is seeking money from the Georgia Downtown Development Revolving Loan Fund, the Georgia Cities Foundation and the USDA Rural Business Development Grant.
City Council approved the RBD grant proposal on Monday. “There’s $671,000 available statewide and we’re asking for $99,950 of that,” Kesler says. “I think we have a strong application.”
While she is looking for every possible external funding source, the city also secured a $710,000 line of credit from South State Bank. “Regardless of what cash flow is, we’ve got a line of credit there if we need it,” Kesler explains. “We may never need penny of it but it’s there if we do.”
SSB Line of Credit Terms and Conditions
- Purpose: Establish line of credit (for downtown construction)
- Loan Amount: The principal amount of the Loan will not exceed $710,000
- Interest Rate and Fee: A fixed rate of 2% above current Certificate of Deposit rate (2.10%) with an origination fee of $1,000
- Collateral: The Loan will be fully secured by Certificates of Deposit held with the Bank
The next step in the process will be to announce the bids in newspaper ads here this week. The city will also seek bids from contractors in Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah. Interested companies will then come to Clarkesville and tour the buildings on May 18.
Atlanta consulting firm Public-Private Partnership Project Management (4PM) is overseeing the bid process and construction. The city is paying 4PM 6.5% of the total cost of fully restoring all the buildings. That total price is currently estimated to be $2.6 million.
If the historic tax credits, grants and low interest loans all come through, 4PM estimates that all the downtown buildings owned by the city can bring in $180,336 annually. Kesler says that estimate is conservative and, if it holds, the city could easily make the annual payments on the renovation debt and still see an annual profit of $44,843.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the total estimated price for restoring all the fire-damaged buildings. The total price is estimated to be $2.6 million.
