Lingering concerns continue to swirl around the long-awaited CentrePointe project and what role the city might take in the future development.
Tensions bubbled over at a work session Tuesday as council members heard an update on a real estate consultant report detailing options for moving the government center – with one possible destination being CentrePointe. Channeling the frustration of constituents, at-large councilman Richard Maloney criticized the pace of discussions and suggested the city was now partly to blame for holding up the process.
Pointing his comments in the mayor's direction, Maloney said, "I'm going to give you the same advice I gave [original CentrePointe developer] Dudley Webb the last time I talked to him. I said fix the damn hole."
But Mason Miller, an attorney representing the city, said with so much at stake forming a detailed picture of the pros and cons both for city hall and CentrePointe is a prudent step.
"To not take 90 days to understand and discuss the ramifications for how both of those could or could not work together would be in the scheme of things irresponsible probably," he told the council.
The nearly $200,000 market analysis is expected by late January or early February, at which time the findings will be discussed behind closed doors. Miller said the report could affect negotiations if made public too soon.
Developers Bridgeton Holdings of New York and Matt Collins of Lexington indicated their intent to take over the project last August with hopes that the city would agree to become the main tenant.
