The Clarkesville City Council will discuss at their work session a memorandum of understanding (MOU) they have received from the Habersham County Development Authority. The MOU outlines the intent of an agreement reached by the development authority with a potential buyer to renovate the property.
The MOU is the first step in moving forward with actual contracts. It is designed to inform affected parties of the intent of the project.
Buyer
Parkside Partners, LLC, is a development firm out of Atlanta that renovates and repurposes buildings in a community. They are listed as the buyer in the MOU. You can see some of their projects on their website at parksidepartners.com/projects.
Parkside Partners will renovate the old courthouse building to become a mixed use facility with commercial space and residential units. The MOU states that the buyer will purchase the property in the purchase amount of $500,000. That amount will be due at the bond closing. After the closing, the company will enter into a “bond-lease” agreement with the development authority.
Project cost
The project is estimated to cost approximately $7,500,000. However, there is a provision in the MOU that states that the project will not exceed $9,000,000. The project will be funded through a “bond-lease” arrangement. The development authority will secure the bonds and the company will make “lease payments” to cover the bond payment. The development authority will also retain ownership of the property until the project is completed.
The MOU does state that the company will be responsible for the bond and not the development authority or the county.
There will be a tax abatement applied to the property during the redevelopment. Once the company receives a certificate of occupancy, the next year the property will be assessed at fair market value and the tax abatement will cease to exist.
According to documents in the MOU, construction would not begin until July 1, 2026 with a substantial construction completion date of January 1, 2028.
The Clarkesville City Council will discuss the MOU at their work session on Monday, May 6 at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at Clarkesville City Hall at 123 North Laurel Drive in Clarkesville.
