The city will negotiate the sale with local developers Danny Butler and Todd Palmer, who own adjoining riverfront properties on the east side of the railroad trestle.
If a purchase agreement is worked out, Butler and Palmer hope to build a 200-room hotel along the riverfront, a restaurant, a 65-unit multifamily complex that could be used as either condos or apartments, and a single-family residential neighborhood that could be similar to the planned community of Seaside, Fla. The development would have a system of walkways that would incorporate the wetland area by using the historic 1882 bridge, which once spanned the Black Warrior River.
The total estimated cost of the development is $70 million.
The city's property, which includes a portion of land in the flood zone south of the levee and a wetland area north of the levee, was appraised at $1.3 million last year. It will be up to the Northport City Council to negotiate a purchase price and any details of the sale.
Butler, who owns the former gin site along the Northport riverfront, has legal first rights to buy the property. He obtained the rights when he bought the gin site in 2008 from Stonegate Realty, which had a contract with the city giving it first claim on the city property if the city were to sell it.
During Tuesday's Redevelopment Authority meeting, concerns were expressed about whether Butler and Palmer would actually develop the property or just sell it.
“It looks great, but obviously there needs to be some assurances that this will be built,” said Northport business owner Carl Adams. “We are eager to see it happen, eager for the potential customers and for downtown Northport to grow.”
Northport resident Frank Chandler questioned why the Northport Redevelopment Authority would not wait until after Butler and Palmer develop their property west of the trestle. A hotel is being planned for the gin site property and construction could begin on that project within the next year, Palmer said.
Chairman James Barnett said it is not up to the Northport Redevelopment Authority to consider development outside of the city-owned property. Instead, the appointed board is supposed to consider only the proposed development for the city-owned land and decide whether the city can begin the negotiation process.
The proposed conceptual plan for the city's property appears to fit within the city's master plan for riverfront development, said City Planner Katherine Ennis. That doesn't mean what is shown on the map is set in stone, she added.
“This map is just to show the potential of this site, not the actual use,” Ennis said.
More definite plans must go before the Northport Planning and Zoning board later for approval before the project can come to fruition.
Attorney Jim Standridge, who represents the developers, said they intend to develop the property and not “flip” it.
During the meeting, Barnett said he has more confidence in Butler and Palmer than he had in Stonegate, adding that he is ready to see something happen along Northport's riverfront.
“(Butler and Palmer) are local, they are people of their word and these people have the know-how,” Barnett said.
Palmer, who recently bought the acres of riverfront property across from the old gin site, also developed the University Village project in Tuscaloosa, which is in its fifth phase.
It could be a year or more between the time the sale is approved and when anything is done on the project, Palmer said. By then, he expects construction to begin on the hotel at the old gin site.
