Сделка по продаже заброшенного здания Woody's на воде сорвалась из-за споров с Корпусом инженеров

Editor’s note: Do you want answers to questions about the Golden Triangle? Each week, Dispatch reporters set out to explain or update a timely, practical issue. Email your question to [email protected]. In February, a deal to sell the Woody’s on the Water property to DJ Mantooth, owner of Daknas Holdings LLC, to develop a new high-end steakhouse on Marina Drive seemed set to proceed. After 17 years sitting vacant and six years in the city’s possession, there was hope new life would be breathed into the building near the marina to bring it back onto the city’s tax rolls. However, like a previous deal in 2022, the sale hit some snags while hammering out agreements with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-owned land, which is leased to the Lowndes County Port Authority, leading to the deal falling through in July, City Attorney Jeff Turnage said. What exactly is the deal between the Corps and the Port Authority? Why is the current deal a challenge for potential buyers? Are there plans for a new lease between the Corps and the Port Authority? What is the current deal between the Corps and the Port Authority? The Port Authority has a lease agreement with the Corps, which owns the land, to sublease the land to other tenants, including the adjacent marina, LCPA Attorney John Crowell said. The Woody’s on the Water building itself is owned by the city of Columbus, after it was gifted in February 2020 by then-owner John Young. But any potential developments of the property and similarly on its land require approval by the Corps, Turnage said. Crowell said he couldn’t speak to specific details of the deal between the port and the Corps but that generally “anything that passes from (LCPA), a new agreement, (or) a sublease, has to meet the standards of the existing lease with the Corps of Engineers.” Why is the agreement a challenge for potential buyers and developers? Turnage said the Corps has noted in previous dealings that it wants something to complement the marina, which has limited potential buyers to those seeking to develop a restaurant. “We had some prospective buyers (who) wanted to put a tattoo parlor out there, and another prospective buyer wanted to have a dental office, and the Corps just said no,” Turnage said. “… We would have been able to make a good profit on a sale to a professional office space, and I guess it’d be a great place to go get your teeth clean. But … that wasn’t satisfactory to the Corps of Engineers.” Crowell said the Corps and LCPA are open to any offerings so long as it “satisfies the obligations and purchases of the Corps of Engineers.” “It doesn’t have to be a restaurant; it could be something else,” Crowell said. “But in reality, the only ones that really, (from) my recollection, have ever been sought are restaurants.” During its first deal in 2022, the prospective buyers ran into issues hammering out details with the Corps and the Port Authority, including a proposal on the first deal to have a portion of the profits given to the Corps, Turnage said. “(The owner) wanted to do some stuff below the building, on the pad that the building is built upon, selling frozen items and stuff like that,” Turnage said. “And the Corps of Engineers didn’t really like that. And then they had this provision requiring a portion of the profits to be paid (alongside the lease payment). … This (most recent) time the Corps or the port getting a percent of the profits was not part of the deal.” The issue with the most recent deal, Turnage said, was the time remaining on the current agreement. Beyond jumping through hoops with the Corps and the Port Authority to get a deal approved, Turnage said the Woody’s property has also decayed over the years while sitting vacant and requires an investment to get it up to snuff. The 2022 sale would have brought the city nearly $300,000, but since then, due to continued decay, the city has fielded lower offers, including the most recent would-be deal with Mantooth for $100,000, in hopes of getting the property back on the city’s tax rolls, Turnage said. “I think it’s still worth more than $100,000, even as it is,” Turnage said. “So if Mantooth had bought it, he would have had a really good purchase price.” Are there plans for a new lease agreement? Turnage said he has spoken with Crowell since the latest deal fell through about working with the Corps to extend the lease agreement beyond the 14 years it has remaining to entice a new buyer for the property. Crowell said he has spoken with the Corps officials about an extension on the lease agreement, though those are still in early discussions, and he is unsure how long an extension on the lease agreement could take. Turnage said he believes it’s worth waiting to sell the city’s property again until an extension on LCPA’s lease agreement is in place. “I mean, it’s still for sale, but I really think for a buyer to get a deal that is suitable to his mortgage lender, we’re going to need more time on the lease,” Turnage said. You can help your community Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community. You can help your community Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.