NGRH hopes still alive
Even though the local option to buy the property has expired, the Chamber is still marketing the 132acre tract of the old state hospital.
The active option on the 132-acre former Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital property has expired, although the chamber is still working to market the property.
There is some question to what that means regarding local decisionmaking in the final use of the property. “We are submitting it to prospects with the blessing of the state,” Rome Floyd Chamber of Commerce President Al Hodge told the Rome Floyd County Development Authority on Tuesday.
“Are we in control of our own destiny?” asked authority member and Hardy Realty broker Jimmy Byars. “I don’t
know enough about how the State Properties Commission works to know if this is a problem or not.”
While the option expired in June, City Manager Sammy Rich said he felt comfortable that the state would still be willing to work with the community.
“We still have access to the property so really nothing has changed,” Rich said. “All we need is
a prospect to put out there and perhaps a big check.”
The community originally got an 18-month option from the State Properties Commission to develop a plan for the property in July of 2014. The original option was extended for another 18 months at the end of 2015 and expired June 30 of this year.
One of the major issues with the site is state bonded indebtedness on the property. The last estimate of that debt — provided over a year ago — was between $5 million and $6 million.
Rich reminded the development authority Tuesday the consultants encouraged the community to think about development of the site as a long-term project and cautioned not to expect anything
to happen right away.
The city and development authority split the $90,500 cost of a conceptual plan for redevelopment of the property in 2015.
The consultants recommended mixed use development on the site including manufacturing, advanced technology, medical office, retail and
a small amount of multifamily residential use.
The former state mental hospital was closed in 2011 and the property has been dormant ever since. It has been shown by chamber economic development staff and has also been scouted for use by the TV and film industry more than once.