City Council to field questions on Grim plan
A public hearing on financing renovation of the Hotel Grim is the highlight of tonight’s meeting of the Texarkana, Texas, City Council.
The council will field comments and questions on a resolution authorizing loans to Grimm Lofts LLC. The company is the partnership led by developer Jim Sari that plans to convert the Grim into a combined residential and commercial building.
The resolution would finalize low-interest loans totaling more than $2 million backed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, approved by those agencies after a yearslong application process.
Some residents have voiced concern about recent changes from the original plan for the hotel.
Sari first intended to convert the Grim into 78 market-rate and 20 subsidized affordable-rate apartment units, but a recent survey indicated the Texarkana rental market will not support that ratio, he said. In addition, a large amount of lead-based paint and other environmental hazards will increase cleanup costs of the hotel by $500,000 to $1 million over initial estimates.
To compensate for the shortfall caused by lower rents and higher cleanup expenses, Sari now plans to make the Grim’s 98 units affordable-rate apartments, making the project eligible for a 4 percent federal tax credit and additional financing through state-issued bonds.
He also plans to add two revenue streams by converting the former Sears store at 301 Pine St. into 20 to 25 market-rate apartments and the Harrell Building at 317 N. State Line Ave., formerly known as the Rialto and the Medical Arts Building, into office space.
The development team is completing architectural design and environmental plans for the Grim and anticipates closing the sale this fall.
The council also will hold another public hearing about changing speed limits on three city roadways. If the ordinance in question is approved, two sections of University Avenue—one between Bringle Lake Village Drive and the beginning of the boulevard section near 6800 University, the other between Shilling Road and Summerhill Road—would have a speed limit of 40 mph. A section of Shilling between University and Bringle Ridge Road would have a speed limit of 35 mph.
During the meeting, the council will convene a closed session to privately consult with legal counsel.
Also on the agenda is an open forum, during which members of the public may address the council on any subject for up to five minutes each.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m at City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd.
On Twitter: @RealKarlRichter