“It’s really exciting to see new investment on East High Street, especially that corner. It’s going to be a nice development,” Aaron Hufford, the chief of staff for the Hamilton city manager’s office.
According to city documents, the plan is to construct a 6,000-square-foot infill commercial building and rehabilitate an existing residential housing unit on Tenth Street.
The commercial building will be a retail development that could feature a restaurant and a service industry business that is not a restaurant.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“I think it’s something that would be a net plus for the East High Street corridor,” said City Manager Joshua Smith. “East High Street for the city is a service corridor ― it’s got a lot of fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, things of that nature ― we’re trying to fill in some empty spaces with things that we don’t have right now in Hamilton.”
The intersection of East High and Tenth streets has been a redevelopment priority for the city of Hamilton over the past few years, and the sale of the 10 parcels, according to the city, were strategically acquired to help square off the corner in hopes it will encourage future development opportunities.
The project completion date is to be 18 months from closing.
Council sold the 10 parcels for $1 in exchange for a minimum of a $1.25 million investment. Specifically, the agreement with the city outlines construction of the commercial building will be around $1 million and the residential building investment will be $250,000.
Additionally, the city agrees that before the building permit is issued for the project, the developer, Mark Ayer, and the city will enter into a community reinvestment area agreement, according to the sale and development agreement. The document states there will be a 10-year, 50% tax abatement for the increase in the assessed value of the project property as a result of the construction.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
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