CRESTVIEW — Representatives from the city and its partners will meet Tuesday to find a way to move forward a project that would upgrade an at-capacity sewer line north of Intestate 10.
If their efforts are successful, a shopping center that is part of the project could produce as many as 1,200 jobs, Mayor David Cadle said.
The city has been in negotiations for several years with developers of a residential neighborhood and an assisted living facility, and with the landowner of the planned shopping center site.
Keep reading for the workshop's date and time.
The arrangement would allow each partner to facilitate its respective developments by contributing to a sewer line upgrade that the city says it can't afford on its own.
However, the project came to a halt in August 2012 when Beach Community Bank, which owns the 144-acre tract planned for the shopping center, said it had not received promised impact fee waivers.
"Based on the city's representations, we contracted to sell the property to a developer who understood the fees would be waived," Beach Community Bank president and CEO Tony Hughes stated in an email.
While the city has waived more than $1.2 million in estimated transportation impact fees for the project, Public Works director Wayne Steele said it cannot legally waive the estimated $554,730 sewer utility impact fees, which are pledged for the project's sewer treatment plant.
"But there are some other options the city can offer," Cadle said.
Partners are optimistic
Beach Community Bank Senior Vice President Scott McCormick said the developer, Bob Peck of Watkins Retail Group, cannot move forward on the shopping center until concerns of sewer line easements and the impact fee waiver are resolved.
Any impact fee waivers the city provides will be more than made up by additional sales and property taxes the shopping center generates, McCormick said, calling the partnership "a win-win for all."
"People around Crestview are very pro this project," he said. "There are not a lot of shopping options to choose from."
McCormick said he was encouraged by comments made by Cadle and city council members during a May 21 meeting, and believes the city supports the project.
"At the end of the day, in all honesty, I am very optimistic that on June 4 at the workshop, we will come to a conclusion that will make everybody happy and we'll move forward," he said.
"I am convinced this project will come to fruition," Cadle said. "When it's finished, it has the potential to bring as many as 1,200 jobs to Crestview as well as shopping opportunities our citizens want."
Want to go?
The Crestview City Council on Tuesday will meet with other partners in a project to upgrade an at-capacity sewage line north of Interstate 10. The public workshop is at 4 p.m. June 4 in the City Council Chamber at City Hall.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: June 4 workshop to address sewer line partnership