Agency sets sights on old bus station
PINE BLUFF — The city’s Urban Renewal Agency approved buying the old bus station for $112,000.
Acquisition of the property at 221 W. Fourth Ave. is necessary for the city to be able to take advantage of potential opportunities in the future, according to Maurice Taggart, executive director of the agency.
The property, which was being leased by a motorcycle club for meetings, is near the old Crown Motel at Fifth Avenue and Walnut Street, property the agency recently acquired.
Agency chairman Jimmy Dill said the purchase is a legitimate part of moving forward in building market-rate housing.
According to Taggart, the lease between the landlord and the tenants will be voided, but Commissioner Kirby Mouser said he wants proof the lease will be terminated.
“I want it in writing that they are going to leave when we say leave,” Mouser said. “It’s something that needs to be taken care of before we jump into this.”
The commissioners agreed, and the resolution was approved.
Taggart reported his efforts during the Tuesday meeting and said strides were being made in regard to increasing the housing stock in Pine Bluff.
Taggart also said he will be meeting with investors interested in 2001 Ohio St., the former location of the old Southeast Middle School, about putting affordable housing there, long a goal of Mayor Shirley Washington.
In addition, Taggart has plans to meet with two West Coast investors in regard to the Crown Motel.
According to Taggart, the investors are known for taking dilapidated hotels and transforming them into trendy apartments.
“It’s going to take a lot of money to take the Crown [Motel] down,” Taggart said. “If we can find somebody to come in and litigate that by turning it into a productive building development that would be great.”
On another matter, Taggart presented to the board a resolution sponsored by a City Council member that would allow the Urban Renewal Agency to take a stronger hand in the inspection process, which is normally handled by the city’s Inspection and Zoning Department. Taggart said depending on the city for the inspection work he needs done is hampering his efforts to make progress on a variety of fronts.
“We’re responsible for all of the demolition in the urban renewal area. However, as it currently stands, I can’t move until I receive condemnation from the city,” Taggart said. “I don’t control the inspection process. What I am proposing is that it gives us the opportunity to inspect, and it puts URA in the driver’s seat.”
According to the resolution, the agency would assist the city department by freeing that department’s resources to address properties outside the urban renewal area, while the nuisances within the urban renewal area would be remediated by the agency in compliance with the rules of the International Property Maintenance Code.
Taggart said the reasoning behind the resolution is that inspections are done sporadically by the city.
“Urban Renewal may have taken down 200 condemned properties, but they are so sporadically spread out throughout the area,” said Taggart. “I can’t go to an investor and say ‘hey I got one property here out of 10 that is clear. I want you to build homes in this location with all this blight around it.”
Taggart said there have been situations where a twoto three-block radius needed to be addressed but only one home was inspected.
“If I only take down one, I’ve done no service to that neighborhood with all the blight still around you,” said Taggart, who added that taking the lead on the process with certified inspectors would help the process move quicker. “At the end of the day, I don’t want us to be in a situation where someone or another entity is controlling and driving what we are supposed to be doing. We are the ones held responsible.”
Commissioners were reluctant to give Taggart the approval to proceed, asking him to work with the city’s code enforcement director and the mayor to come to an agreement before moving forward with the proposed resolution. Taggart responded, saying that those conversations had already happened and that progress on the subject is stalled.
“Our success is interdependent on each other,” he said. “The city is in the driver’s seat in respect to inspections. I’m not saying that the intent is not there. It’s just not happening.”
Dill said he believes the inspection process from the city is slowing the agency’s efforts to remove blight.
“If I look at what they’ve done in the Urban Renewal area as far as picking places to inspect, I don’t see any logic to it,” said Mouser, who added that the areas are cherry-picked. “I’ve asked Maurice ‘what are you doing?’ and his response is ‘I made suggestions; they go do what they want to do.’”
The commissioners suggested inviting the city’s code enforcement director to come and speak with the board at the next meeting, and Taggart said he would issue the invitation.
“I understand things don’t move as fast as I would like them to move, but at some point, you just have to draw a line in the sand and move forward,” Taggart said. “I have a responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the agency.”