Matthews Considers Sale of Downtown Property

[Adam Brooks]

I really cannot believe that nothing has been posted about this on here.

"Town Considers Sale of Property -- On November 9, the Town Board will consider selling property located at 111 Matthews Station Street. The Pure Taqueria Restaurant and Brookchase Properties have expressed interest in the property. The Town Board may consider not selling the property or selling it to either of these firms."

I've read a few articles and talked with some local community leaders about this. I'll post some links in this thread. Adam

[Adam Brooks]

I was only able to attend the latter part of this meeting so anyone feel free to jump in with clarifications.

In last night's meeting, a modified version of the Pure development was presented and voted to move forward by the council. Bill Dixon was the only commissioner to vote against moving forward with the Pure proposal and, I believe, that he requested a deferral when he spoke on the matter.

A modified two-story mixed use version of the Brookchase development was presented earlier and did not gain support from the council.

There is another public hearing, on the sale of the property, proposed for later in November (close to Thanksgiving it seemed).

I am still digesting all that has happened and will post my editorial commentary in a few days.

If the developers are watching, please post pics of your revised proposals or email them to me and I'll post them for you.

Community leaders, I know that the Internet can be a brutal place for discussion, however, I do feel that these decisions need to be presented openly to the public and this is a reasonable medium through which to do it. We would appreciate your thoughts on the process and proposals.

[Adam Brooks]

From today's Town of Matthews email newsletter
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Town Sells Downtown Property
The Town of Matthews has sold a piece of downtown land that it owned to Michael K. Ott, LLC for a Pure Taqueria Restaurant. The one -third acre lot was purchased for $175,000 in cash and is located at 111 Matthews Station Street (beside the Massey-Clark House). Over the last several months the Town had reviewed the offer from Pure Taqueria as well as an offer from BrookeChase Properties.

In making their decision the Town Board of Commissioners cited immediate economic development possibilities as the reason to sell the property to Pure Taqueria. Pure Taqueria will build a 3,200 square foot restaurant with 14 parking spaces on the site. An additional 4,000 square foot commercial building or additional parking spaces could be added to the site in the future pending approval from the Town Board.

BrookeChase Properties initially proposed a three story building with residential and commercial space. The concept plan was later reduced to two floors and would have accommodated up to 13 residential condos and some office or retail shops. The amount of residential space in the proposed plan exceeded Town code requirements.

[Adam Brooks]

Article: Matthews sells downtown lot to restaurateurs

Excerpt.... (I am claiming fair use)

Pure Taqueria trumps mixed-use project
Downtown Matthews will be home to a franchise Mexican restaurant within a year. The Matthews Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 Nov. 9 to sell the one-third-acre vacant lot at 111 Matthews Station St. to Charlotte attorney Michael Ott and partner James Hipp for $175,000. They plan to build a Pure Taqueria there. Pure has three Georgia locations.

The decision was made despite a revised proposal from Matthews developer Garry Smith of BrookeChase Properties, who wants to build a retail and condominium complex. Presented Nov. 9, Smith’s new proposal offered $200,000 – $25,000 less than his previous offer – for the land, at the corner of Matthews Station and North Trade streets adjacent to the 1880s Clark House. It also reduced the development from three to two stories to appease commissioners’ concerns about too many residential condos and not enough parking.

Commissioner Bill Dixon voted against the sale, saying commissioners were “rushing” a decision and hadn’t given residents enough opportunity to comment.

[Adam Brooks]

I think that we all realize that we are making land use decisions that will impact the town for many, many, many years. The Gazebo building, empty bank buildings, ad-hock conversions, and the Flapdoodle (sp?) warehouse are all great monuments to poor planning and lack of control to steer development toward a greater vision. They were apparently good enough for the moment. They reflect developing for a single specific business, not developing with the long-term perspective. I advocate for us to avoid this. I fully appreciate Dixon for taking a principled stand in recognition of public opinion.

[Garry Smith]

You are exactly right! It was even said for justification of the decision that the Business (Pure Tagueria) was more important than the "Building/Architecture" because it was a sure thing at this time. How many businesses have been in and out of the older buildings in downtown Matthews? What buildings do people refer to when explaining there thoughts/visions of downtown Matthews?

The business going there is fine, it's the permanent part (Building/Architecture) of the deal that was missed. Parking will be a huge issue as well (80-100 needed per Pure Taqueria's website). At some point in time in the near future this will be recognized (again).