Canton Approves Agreement To Help Sell Historic Buildings

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The city of Canton has taken another step in a bid to find a developer for two buildings they acquired from the Cherokee County School Board.

The City Council on Thursday approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Downtown Development Authority to help find a private developer for Building A, the former Canton Cotton Mill offices, and Building B, the former Canton Grammar School.

Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood and City Council member John Rust were not present.

The agreement stipulates the city will utilize the DDA as the broker in the transaction, City Manager Billy Pepper said. The DDA approved the agreement earlier this month.

Wanda Roach, chair of the DDA’s Board of Directors, said she and the organization is “excited” about the chance to find a developer for the property.

“We feell ike this IGA…is the right vehicle for the city to allow us to go forward with this development,” she said. “We look forward to working with the city to see this come to fruition.”

The land swap deal approved earlier this year with the Cherokee County School Board included the city swapping 19.78 acres of land located along Bluffs Parkway in exchange for the property that’s home to historic buildings in downtown Canton.

Canton would retain roughly 4.19 acres that would be used as the future site for a fire station. Additionally, the school district would construct a shared access drive that would be used by the city in relation to the fire station as well as the district for its operations.

The agreement was approved by both Canton and the school board as part of the city’s desire to save both buildings, which were recommended for demolition by Cherokee County Schools Superintendent Frank Petruzielo to accommodate a new administrative complex for the school system.

Building B, the former Canton Grammar School, was renovated more than 30 years ago for office use with no preservation of historic details and was closed six years ago due to structural, safety and health concerns, the school district has previously said.

The basement level of the two-floor Building A, the former Canton cotton mill offices, was closed shortly after due to similar concerns.

According to the intergovernmental agreement with the DDA,

• the city would sell the buildings to the DDA for $50,000 less than the purchase price the developer will pay to the DDA;
• the DDA would enter into an agreement with a private developer that would outline the plans for the property; that agreement would spell out that the city’s approval of the agreement would be required before it becomes effective;
• the private developer must retain at least 125 parking spaces that would be available anytime for public parking;
• the developer will not demolish the buildings, and a written covenant authorizing that they never be demolished will be recorded in deed records with Cherokee County;
• if requested by a developer, the city will create a tax allocation district, or TAD, which would include the BOE property, be maintained for up to 10 years and provide for the reimbursement of up to $750,000 in development costs; the TAD’s boundaries could be expanded for any future redevelopment in the area.
• the city would waive any building permit fees related to the renovation of the buildings, tap fees for the number of taps equal to the number of which exist in the area included in the development plan and stormwater utility charges related to the public parking area.

The Cherokee County Historical Society, which publicly advocated for preserving the buildings, praised the Council’s decision.

“The Historical Society is pleased that plans are moving forward to redevelop the site and rehabilitate the building,” said Executive Director Stefanie Joyner. “We are grateful to the city of Canton for all of their work to save the buildings from demolition, and look forward to seeing this project contribute to the revitalization of downtown.”

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Image via Shutterstock