Clarksville officials have agreed to drop an eminent domain lawsuit against the owner of the former Colgate-Palmolive property, as development plans progress.
The Clarksville Town Council and Redevelopment Commission voted at a special meeting Tuesday to approve a settlement agreement with Clarks Landing Enterprise Investments, LLC, the owner of the historic property, known for its giant clock.
It states that the owner has entered into an agreement with Louisville-based firm Weyland Ventures, LLC, to develop the property, and that the parties have agreed to settle "to avoid the cost, delay and uncertainty of further litigation."
Plans are preliminary but firm founder Bill Weyland said they could include a hotel, restaurants and convention center.
The town brought the lawsuit more than two years ago after concerns that the property owner had failed to make headway on development plans for the site that once held a state prison and later a Colgate-Palmolive manufacturing plant. Officials worried the buildings were falling into disrepair and would need to be demolished.
Town officials previously said their main goal was to see progress, not necessarily to own the space long-term, though the lawsuit was meant to let the town take the property.
The property sits at the top of what's now Main Street in South Clarksville, part of the buildout of a new downtown near the Ohio River.
Weyland, behind the company that's part of projects including Whiskey Row Lofts in downtown Louisville, said he's excited to be involved with the former Colgate property. He said he's always loved working on things steeped in history.
"It makes things authentic and it's the foundational element of making a really exciting project," he said.
He said it was important to connect the community and property owner and get all the parties working in the same direction.
"Public-private, joint ventures are the critical part of all this kind of stuff," he said. "So that's what needed to turn around."
He said the eminent domain issue was a big hurdle to potentially overcome. But he appreciated the conversations with town officials, and "now I feel like I'm freed up to really…put real pencil to paper and try to make it come together," he said.
Town Council President Ryan Ramsey said it's a huge step for Clarksville and the continued development in the area, but also "transformational for our region," he said.
Officials first offered the property owner $6 million, unsuccessfully, before moving forward with litigation. That came after the Clarksville Town Council voted three years ago to condemn the former plant.
Morgan Ward is an attorney with Stites & Harbison representing Clarks Landing. He said they're happy that the town has agreed to drop the lawsuit.
"This is really a win-win for the town of Clarksville and the entire community, as well as our client, because it paved the way for the ongoing development of the property, continued investment in the region, expanding economic opportunities and driving growth in Clarksville as well as Louisville," Ward said.
He previously told LPM News the property is worth more than 10 times what Clarksville originally offered.
Greg Fifer, an attorney representing Clarksville in the lawsuit, said the sides got to the settlement out of a "mutual frustration that things needed to move forward."
Fifer and Ramsey said dropping the lawsuit allows more freedom for the developer to secure financing to shore up definite plans.
Ward said while the lawsuit "certainly delayed the development of the property…we're excited now to be on the same page with the town of Clarksville, and this is a great opportunity today for the parties to move forward together."
According to the settlement, the town agreed to work with Clarks Landing to identify and apply for Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, funding, state tax credits and other funding opportunities, "as Clarksville would in its normal course of business."
Tammi Gibson, economic development director for Clarksville, said it's been exciting to be able to discuss early plans.
"There's such history there that we're all going to make sure that whatever happens lends to the history of the area," she said. "It's been [a] very impressive discussion about what could go there, and I'm looking forward to how we can work together to make it happen."
The settlement agreement is a step toward getting the lawsuit dismissed.
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