An apartment complex proposed off Champion Road near the intersection of Highway 58 and Highway 53 is no longer on the table - and the property will likely be taken off the table altogether as the site of any potential development.
At a community meeting at the end of July, District 3 City Councilman Ken Smith, who represents the area, delivered the news to about 30 residents of the River Rock Cove community. Along with Champion Road, River Rock Cove is accessed by Webb Drive. The residents were concerned about additional traffic the development would bring to the 2.25-mile, two-lane winding road with no shoulder, which is already heavily trafficked, they say.
The decision to drop the proposal was the developer's.
On June 15, the Hamilton County Commission voted unanimously to rezone the property at 5400, 5406 and 5412 Champion Road from R2-A to R3 to allow the developer, Champion View Investments, to build a proposed 346-unit apartment complex on roughly 28 acres. The property's previous zoning restricted multi-family dwellings to duplexes and townhomes.
An online petition asking county commissioners to review and rescind the zoning change had been signed by 100 concerned residents, and a link was sent to the commission prior to its July 6 meeting, though no response was received.
At the residents' meeting with Smith July 28, he said he had spoken with the proposed project's engineer, who informed him that it would not be moving forward.
In a phone interview, project engineer Mike Price of MAP Engineers said he and the property owner made the determination that the best move forward, both for the property and for him and his partner financially, would be to donate the land as a conservancy instead of developing the property.
"When you place a property such as that in a conservation easement, there are ways to receive tax credits, or incentives," said Price.
When asked if there were any environmental issues with the property that affected their decision to not develop it, Price said there are none of which he is aware.
He said he hopes to complete the process of turning the property into a conservation easement by the end of the year. He and the current owner would then either dedicate the property to a qualified 501(c)(3) or, as suggested by Hamilton County Commissioner Chester Bankston, they would look at donating the property to the state as an extension of Booker T. Washington State Park.
Smith said if they decide to sell the property instead of placing it under the protection of a conservation easement, the new owner would need to repeat the entire rezoning process to build anything except duplexes and townhomes, as it would revert to its original zoning.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 757-6508.