From Car Lot To...?

Eyesore to wetlands?
Link (JG)

"City parks officials are rightly taking preliminary steps to determine whether to pursue buying the former Dimension Ford auto dealership on West Jefferson Boulevard. It’s now a vacant building, more eyesore than enticement, just west of downtown.

If officials determine the purchase is economically prudent, turning the property into a wetlands or parkland would enhance work done in the past year at the Swinney Park pond and tennis courts to improve the western gateway into downtown. It would also be a welcome neighbor of the planned Cougar Trail, a Greenway trail the city wants to develop along a railroad bed between the old auto dealership and Swinney Park. Phase I of the trail would run to the University of Saint Francis.

Parks officials are seeking an appraisal of the 23-acre property, which is listed at $2.4 million, said Parks and Recreation Director Al Moll."
[...]
"All this is tentative. City officials have yet to negotiate with the property owners or identify funding streams. Moll has yet to discuss the project in depth with Mayor-elect Tom Henry, whose support would be necessary.

City officials also need to examine the real likelihood of whether the property could be developed privately before removing it from the tax rolls.

Still, a park or wetlands would offer a much better impression of the city than an empty and aging car dealership.

If it would also provide adequate floodwater storage to mitigate the increasing flooding on the St. Marys, it would be worth the investment.

Parks officials are right to examine the possibility."

Related:
Dimensional Reuse

What is the best use for the Dimension property?