Robert Campbell, vice president and civil/site group leader with Qk4 speaks to members of the Johnson Property Ad Hoc Committee on Oct. 28. Michael Crimmins/Glasgow News 1
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
In hopes of a better response from developers, members of the Johnson Property Ad Hoc Committee decided to delay the request for proposals until the Friday of the third full week of January.
“I’d like to issue an addendum…to push the proposal due date out,” Qk4’s Vice President and Civil/Site Group Leader Robert Campbell said. “I am inferring from the feedback I’ve got that it’d probably help us in generating competition [if] we add a little time to this.”
“Me personally, I think you’ve got to push it to that second or third Friday in January,” Planning Director Kevin Myatt said. “If [developers] are checking with lenders and [other] individuals — because if you got to a developer he or she has got survey firm or engineering firm they want to touch base with — they’re not doing that in December. I mean you can, but they’re not getting back with you in January.”
Campbell said 20 developers have Glasgow’s request for proposals in hand with seven reviewing the documents and three declined for “various reasons.” The requests went out on Sept. 19 and virtual advertisements of the request appeared in publications in Lexington, Louisville, Bowling Green and Nashville — though Myatt said that does not mean local developers cannot submit their own proposals.
The Friday after the third full week is Jan. 23.
Glasgow Mayor Henry Royse said it might be beneficial to point out to potential developers the economic announcements that have been made recently, especially regarding Tate and Union Coating and Chemical. The press releases would be included in the addendum, Campbell said.
“Let’s talk about timing a second: When the [requests] went out we hadn’t announced Tate and we hadn’t announced Union, so what I’m getting at is, are the developers savvy enough to on their own know we have 460 jobs on the way here, or do we need to somehow circle back around and say ‘since you got this we wanted to make sure you knew,'” Royse said.
Committee members also discussed the upcoming expansion of Ky. 1297 and the need to decide where exactly the road would be, the utility placements and the need to remove the structure on the property.
“When I look to buy property, land is always more enticing to me when I don’t have to take anything off it,” committee member Terry Bunnell said. “Let’s get that stuff down.”
Jim McGowen said demolition is something that can be done in-house.
The next ad hoc committee meeting is Nov. 18 at 3:30 p.m. The Johnson Property Committee is a subcommittee of the city’s finance committee.
Glasgow City Council members voted to purchase the 161.78-acres property for $38,000 per acres — $6.15 million in total — on Sept. 9, 2024. The property address is 1573 Cleveland Ave.
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