By William C. Singleton III
Journal contributor
Vestavia Hills city officials have made a series of moves they hope will pave the way for further development of Patchwork Farms.
In July, the City Council agreed to purchase 22.19 acres that belong to the school system for $3.48 million–the original price the school board paid the city for the land in 2009.
The City Council also last month approved three real estate agreements connected to Patchwork Farms, the collective name for 83 acres between Cahaba River and Caldwell Mill roads between U.S.280 and Interstate 459.
The agreements include the following:
The city will exchange 6.2 acres of school board property with Northport Holding, which previously purchased seven acres within Patchwork Farms and plans to build a 120-bed nursing facility.
The city will sell 8.3 acres of school board property to Resort Lifestyle Communities for $2.2 million so Cameron Development can build a 130-unit upscale senior living facility.
The city will sell the remaining undeveloped property–about 25 acres–to Daniel Corp. for $4 million. Daniel Corp. will assume responsibility to develop the property into a mixed-use village concept.
Although the city approved the agreements, there is a due diligence process that may take a few months to complete. City Manager Jeff Downes said he expects the sales contracts to close by November or December.
Downes said the acquisition of the school board property is an important piece of the puzzle because it allows further development of Patchwork Farms. Life Time Fitness currently operates a fitness center in Patchwork Farms.
The city needs a portion of the property Northport Holding currently owns to facilitate retail development across from Life Time Fitness. Northport Holding not only agreed to swap property but to build its nursing home to reflect a facility that matches a village concept, Downes said.
Those changes include going from a one-story facility on a larger footprint to a two-story facility on a smaller footprint, Downes said. The city will assume the costs associated with the relocation, he added.
“The scale of what was being built across from Life Time Fitness was a suburban-scale Northport facility,” the city manager said. “That was contrary to the plans put forth in our charrettes.”
In December, the city held a series of public meetings or charrettes to develop a vision for future development of Patchwork Farms. The vision now includes a village-like development.
“It (the land exchange) opens up an area for retail development that would not fully develop if it were not for that relocation,” Downes said. “It allows for positioning of other uses that are consistent with one another that could generate more income for us.”
Over the next five years, the city stands to reap $13.4 million in tax revenues and the school board $9.3 million, Downes said. That revenue will come from the sale of property, sales taxes, property taxes, building permit fees and construction-related sales taxes.
Downes also said the development will yield further tax revenue throughout its lifetime.
