Critic calls sale of Walnut Commons land a ‘sweetheart deal’

Helen Burns Sharp, standing, raises questions about the Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corporation's sale of the city-owned property under Walnut Commons to the apartment building's owners at a CDRC meeting in 2017. Helen Burns Sharp, standing, raises questions about the Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corporation's sale of the city-owned property under Walnut Commons to the apartment building's owners at a CDRC meeting in 2017.

By Tim Omarzu June 20, 2017 3 min read

The owners of the Walnut Commons Apartment complex now own the land underneath their building, since a city of Chattanooga board voted Monday afternoon to sell the city-owned property for $970,000.

City officials and the attorney for owners of the apartment just south of the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge said they bridged a wide gap between the owners’ initial offer of $650,000 for the land and the city’s desired $1.1 million.

“I think $950,000 is a reasonable amount,” Bob Parsley, a lawyer with the downtown firm Miller & Martin which represents Walnut Commons LLC, told the Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corporation (CDRC), before it approved the sale.

City Finance Officer Daisy Madison negotiated the sale price on behalf of the CDRC, which Madison chairs, and CDRC board member David Dalton gave Madison a vote of confidence.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/27/14. Walnut Commons in downtown Chattanooga.

“She negotiated it, and that’s what she brought back,” Dalton said.