City commissioners decided to support private investment in Five Points, a small urbanized area of the city, and land along Hawthorne Road in a Community Development Committee meeting Monday.
“We are not seeing enough private investment,” said City Commissioner Thomas Hawkins.
Hawkins said if the city used public money for funding, it would be cheaper for private investors to invest because they wouldn’t have to spend as much money on public utilities.
The decision came after serious debate between city commissioners Craig Lowe and Scherwin Henry over whether to limit the development to Five Points or expand it to include the area along Hawthorne Road.
Lowe argued that the focus should be limited to the development of Five Points in order to “get something that will develop close residential communities with heightened and focused redevelopment strategies in mind.”
Instead of trying to improve a broad area, Lowe felt the greatest success could be achieved by focusing on improving the investment in one area.
Henry disagreed because he felt there was a greater potential for investment in the area along Hawthorne Road, with companies such as Food Lion, a retail grocery store, and GTECH, an information technology company, to entice investors.
“They (the companies and the department) will have needs to be met — enticing private investors,” Henry said.
Although Community Development Committee chairman Hawkins originally agreed with Lowe, after a half-hour of consideration, both Lowe and Hawkins decided to consider both investments simultaneously.
The next step, Hawkins said, is examining three possible programs that could help fund this project: Eastside Community Redevelopment Agency, Connect Free and College Park.
The Community Development Committee will meet again May 27 to pick a program.
