The Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency met Tuesday to discuss what moving on looks like, including the transfer of properties and the status of some of its projects with the 2017 sales tax scheduled to end in September 2024.
Urban Renewal Executive Director Chandra Griffin said she would address its properties, maintenance, projects and employees moving forward as needed.
Beginning with PBURA’s demolition and blight removal plans, Griffin said the demolition team operations will cease March 31. According to Griffin, the operating budget is enough to cover the first quarter of 2024 with the budget for administrative operations carrying the agency for nine months.
“I met with the demo team and they are aware of the three months that they will be operating,” Griffin said, adding that she advised the team to seek other employment or transfer to other departments within the city, such as the Street Department, or ride it out through March.
Depending on who leaves or transfers, Griffin said, blight removal may stop before March.
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“If our excavator operator, who is the demo superintendent, if he leaves we would have to more than likely stop the demos,” Griffin said.
Collection on the tax will stop in September 2024, but according to Griffin, those funds will be received in October at the latest.
As far as continued demolition, the Pine Bluff Code Enforcement Department would take over if it has funding.
“We’ll have to address the equipment transfer,” Griffin said. “Additional conversations will have to be had with the city to transfer to specific departments.”
PBURA commissioners inquired about out-of-state developers who were to start construction on the modern, three-level, multifamily apartment-style homes in downtown Pine Bluff.
Pines 1 Development LLC partners Kelley Eubanks and Dr. David L. Willis of Texas plan to develop a 26-unit complex on Sixth Avenue and Georgia Street to Convention Center Drive.
According to Griffin, due to the failure of the tax, the investors have not been able to secure funding.
“The tax not passing did affect some of that funding concern with the investor,” Griffin said, adding that Pines 1 Development is still trying to secure funding to move forward with the project. “They are looking at other options.”
Griffin went on to say that everything needed to secure the building permit has been done, as well as putting the construction fence up and the street being closed.
“We made it so far, and then when it came time for the big dollars to come in, that’s when the issue came about,” she said. “When it comes to the actual large funds that are needed for this project, there was some hesitation.”
The commissioners approved the ending of the blight removal program on March 31, and any money left over would go back into the general PBURA budget to finish out other duties.
Commissioner Kirby Mouser said PBURA projects will still be in the works after September, such as the go-kart track.
Griffin also addressed the buildings on 316, 322 and 324 Main St. PBURA had a developmental agreement with Pine Bluff Community Development, which invested approximately $140,000 to rehabilitate those three buildings.
Griffin spoke about the release of Pines 1 Development regarding the right of first refusal or other projects and the agreement with Pine Bluff Community Development.
“That project included the potential of having potential multifamily housing across the street,” she said. “The flats project, the Pine to Walnut project and then developing between Third and Fourth, they had a first right of refusal.”
Griffin said Pine Bluff Community Development officials were originally interested in 316 Main and she has emails dating back to January 2022 of ideas they had for the space. Community Development invested the funding for the rehabilitation through a program on the terms that the property be occupied, and Griffin said the group wants its money back.
“That has not happened on our end in reference to that obligation,” said Griffin, referencing occupancy. “We do have to make a decision in reference to the properties that we have under our umbrella.”
Griffin said Community Development has the potential and possibly the funding and the source funding to develop that property.
Griffin said Community Development officials and Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington came to a consensus that the property be turned over.
“I also made the recommendation that they take 322 and 324,” Griffin said. She added that the PBURA attorney has written for the release of Pines 1 Development, which has agreed to the release.
Mouser said freeing up those properties is for ultimate transfer to the city.
Griffin said there will be more first rights of refusals on additional properties and she will address them as they come up.
PBURA Chairman Jimmy Dill asked if there was a rush to transfer the buildings, to which Griffin said no, but she was looking at the stipulation of the $140,000 being requested back to Community Development.
“Right now what we have is no further along than people just showing interest in it because I’m still showing that property,” she said. “… But when it comes down to funding to build out that large space, it’s a lot of money.”
The estimated cost for heating, air, plumbing and electrical totaled roughly $280,000 at the 316 property.
“The ultimate goal that we want to get to is we want someone in the space,” Griffin said. “If they have a plan, they’re looking to that, that’s the direction we should go because right now we don’t have anything tangible other than interest.”
Mouser said transferring it to the city was probably the easiest.
“We don’t have any money beyond September to keep it up, and they at least have the potential to keep it in the state it’s in and it not deteriorate,” he said.
A motion was made and passed to accept the first right of refusal and to transfer the properties with an indication that Community Development would not request those funds back.
“If we deed this property to them, what’s to keep them from coming along and say we still want our money back,” Mouser asked, stating that the money is allocated for other projects.
Mouser suggested getting something legally binding in writing that forgives or exchanges the obligation.
“No more asking for money back once they receive the title to the property,” he said.
One project that will continue is the Sixth Avenue and Main Street Plaza, which will feature a retail and restaurant district expected to be completed in May.
The first four vendors for Pine Bluff’s Sixth Avenue District were introduced in October. Their restaurants will be housed in an old warehouse near the old Simmons Bank drive-thru on Sixth Avenue.
The estimated cost of the project is $5 million — $3 million of which is reportedly coming from private funding.
Go Forward Pine Bluff CEO Ryan Watley has said previously that the organization wouldn’t be able to do that if it solely relied on tax dollars.
Griffin said Sixth and Main is taking form, and next is an electrical pole removal by Entergy that will cost around $121,057. Pine Bluff Cable TV will relocate its lines underground at the cost of $28,558.
Griffin said that work is to begin in January.
As far as the go-kart track and the other projects that fall under Go Forward Pine Bluff and PBURA, Watley said he and Griffin will meet and evaluate the projects in the next couple of weeks to present a plan of action, possibilities and recommendations.