Hickory Creek Capital Partners has withdrawn its proposal to renovate the Blue Building.
According to developer Kent Leach, Warren County may not qualify for a low-income housing tax credit through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and that tax credit was instrumental in Hickory Creek Capital Partner’s development plans for the Blue Building.
“As we drove home from McMinnville yesterday, THDA met to finalize the 2022 Qualified Allocation Plan. The QAP determines how affordable housing credits will be awarded yearly by THDA,” said Leach in a written correspondence to the city on Wednesday. “You may be aware that Warren County initially scored very high and then was later downgraded somewhat. We still saw a path to victory and moved forward with the expectation that there would not be further changes. Unfortunately, THDA has made additional changes to the QAP that make our proposal much less likely to win the required credits.”
With those tax credits and other funding, the developer planned to renovate the Blue Building and create 40 units of affordable housing. All of those would be considered Section 42 Housing, meaning they would be affordable to those with a household income at, or below, the median income.
“In light of these changes, we regret to inform you that we must withdraw our proposal to purchase the Blue Building from consideration,” said Leach. “Both Buzz (Goss) and I feel that you have an excellent proposal in hand from Investment Partners and fully support Bobby and Lake Kirby’s vision for the Blue Building.”
Leach expressed appreciation for the hospitality they received while in Warren County and urged city officials to move forward.
“We’d also like to thank each of you for the gracious hospitality and for making us feel so welcome in your community,” said Leach. “McMinnville has a bright future and can be proud of the leadership that has brought it to this point. We want to encourage you to move forward with your vision to complete the vision for your downtown and the Blue Building.”
Still on the table for city officials to consider is a development proposal by Investment Partners which consists of Jewell Hale, Bobby Kirby and Lake Kirby.
“Hickory Creek developers, Buzz and Kent are very solid guys and do great work,” said Kirby, when asked to comment about their withdrawal. “I’m familiar with some projects that Buzz has been involved in, both in Knoxville and Nashville. He’s a very good developer and has been involved in some very impressive projects. The development world is actually a small world. I don’t think the product they offered to deliver was the right one for the Blue Building and ours will bring much more economic benefit to the specific property, downtown businesses, and all of McMinnville.”
Per Investment Partners’ proposal, it is seeking to renovate the Blue Building with 24 residential units and one commercial unit. Also constructed would be 40 townhomes on the lot behind the building.
“We are obviously very excited about the Blue Building and our project,” said Kirby. “Our project will be a high-end development with very nice condos and townhomes. We are ready to really focus on the project and start our planning. We look forward to begin our planning process and due diligence. We’ve got a lot of work to do but we are ready to move forward. This will be a legacy property and development for Investment Partners for me, Jewell and Lake. We want this to be something we are very proud of and the board is very proud of.”
McMinnville officials are slated to continue their discussion on the Blue Building during the regular session of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen this Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 7 p.m.
The meeting agenda has yet to be finalized.
