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$2.3M Town Center plan may be back
With Election Day in the Town of Haymarket quickly approaching, town officials and residents are not the only ones with a vested interest in the May 4 results. The future of the plan set forth by commercial developer Gerry Kennedy may depend on which six town council candidates end up being elected. Kennedy said Tuesday that not only is his $2.3 million project to turn the Town Center property into a series of small businesses alive, but he may be within two weeks of finally netting a financial backer. "We've very, very close to securing the construction and purchase financing," said Kennedy. He said that there are three investment groups competing for his project, including a private company based in California, a Virginia-based bank that practices in Va., WV and NC, and a private bank out of Texas. "Between those three, we'll have commitments from two out of those three," said Kennedy. The businessman who has an office right across the street from the Town Center property repeated a refrain he used throughout 2009 when he said banks cited an unstable economy as a reason why they would not commit to his project. "We haven't seen positive response from banks in quite a long time and we're just now starting to see that," he said. According to Kennedy, he has secured pre-lease agreements for 85 percent of the office space inside of the four buildings at Town Center. He said he's filled up 62 percent of available spots for his entire project. To date, the type of commercial non-retail tenants that are prepared to move in, he said, include an accounting firm, an attorney, an information technology company, a book keeping service, a government IT contractor, a real estate management company, a mortgage broker, a settlement company, an engineering firm and a defense company. Retail stores and restaurants include the antique consignments shop already on the property, a specialty sowing and yard store, a day care, an ice cream parlor, a hamburgers and hot dogs stand, a white table cloth restaurant. He is also either in talks with or has lined up an imported clothes specialty shop, a bakery, a wine store, a chiropractor's office and a gift store. "Our estimation is from one commitment to settlement will be 30 to 45 days," he said. Though Kennedy is still making the same offer he's had on the table since Jan. 2009, he will have to resubmit his plan for a public hearing where town residents can speak up. The council would then vote some time after the hearing. It takes a super-majority of the council to vote in agreement in order for the sale to be authorized. Kennedy has won all of his previous votes by 5-1 margins, council member Bob Weir always voting against it. If Jay Tobias is elected, he could potentially be a swing vote and join Weir against it or vote with the majority and pass it. He supported Kennedy's original plan in 2008 but called Kennedy's most recent offering a "pipe dream" that would not happen as it expired with the town last year. "This thing is not a pipe dream," said Kennedy. "I'm seeking financing for this project. ... That's what I do. I'm all about this project. The normal environment for achieving financing for this project is not here."Tobias responded by saying he would want to see the proposal up front before making any decisions on it.
"I'd have to evaluate it for its own merits as it sits right now. ... I could potentially vote either way on it depending upon how the deal is," said Tobias, adding that he is in favor of the town selling either the Town Center property or the Harrover property on the east side of town, which presently serves as the police department headquarters. Kennedy said potential investors are in the "final throes of their reviews" with one of the banks having sent it to a semi-final committee last Friday. Kennedy said he is leaning toward the offer made by the California-based company. "If I received offers from all three, I would choose the best from the three offers," he said.
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