Texas-side council to vote on financing for Grim renovation

Financing for the Hotel Grim renovation project will come to a vote at Monday’s meeting of the Texarkana, Texas, City Council.

The council will vote on a resolution that would finalize low-interest loans to the project’s developer totaling more than $2 million, which are backed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Some residents have voiced concern about recent changes from the original plan for the hotel.

Developer Jim Sari first intended to convert the Grim into a mixture of market-rate and affordable-rate apartments, but he recently determined that the Texarkana rental market will not support that.

Sari now plans to make all of the Grim’s 98 apartments affordable-rate units, making the project eligible for a 4 percent federal tax credit and additional financing through state-issued bonds.

He also plans to convert 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.

On Monday, the council will also vote on a resolution revising the fire department’s swap time policy, which sets rules for how firefighters may trade their scheduled shifts with one another.

The council will also conduct four public hearings, during which anyone may comment.

Two concern site plan approvals for new construction at 4105 Richmond Place and 4207 Richmond Road. Another is about the sale of a surplus water distribution system on the TexAmericas Center East Campus to Riverbend Water Resources District. And the fourth concerns approval of the city’s plans for federal Community Development Block Grants.

The agenda includes an open forum during which members of the public may address the council on any topic for up to five minutes each.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd.

On Twitter: @RealKarlRichter