Riverside looks into developing 3 empty spaces

In the next year, Riverside will work to fill and rehabilitate empty buildings and build a website to market properties.

Riverside City Manager Mark Carpenter and the city council decided on the city manager’s goals for the next year at the city council’s special meeting Thursday.

“We just want to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Carpenter said. “Sometimes we’re all trying to get different goals accomplished, and this way we’re all working toward the same ones.”

Carpenter and city council determined that the most important goal for the city is the economic development of three empty spaces: the Center of Flight across the street from the Air Force Museum, the former K-mart building on Woodman Road and the former MTC building on Felspar Road.

Riverside Mayor Bill Flaute expressed concerns over developing the Center of Flight.

“How do you market the Center of Flight? We’ve done everything we can think possible to market the property,” Flaute said.

Carpenter said he would develop a marketing plan for the properties and distribute those materials to at least eight developers. Carpenter also plans to work with stakeholders to determine the best businesses to go into the properties.

Carpenter and the city council defined four goals, including applying for and possibly using CDBG funding to rehabilitate several homes in Riverside. The city manager also plans to develop a website that will showcase available properties in Riverside.

Council will sign off on the city manager’s goals at a future meeting.