Housing-developer National Church Residences continues to work with the city of Athens on the proposed Stimson Avenue retirement center, but there are conflicting views about the slow-moving nature of the process.
Athens Mayor Ric Abel said Wednesday that City Council is taking longer than it should to act on the retirement community, but council members and representatives from NCR said a long process is standard procedure.
We understand that there are issues that need to be resolved
said Patrick Higgins, Director of Communications for NCR. This is no more unusual than any other place we have worked with.
Higgins said NCR feels it has addressed everything that needs to be addressed and everything should be resolved by January at the latest. The primary concern is that the center will be located on a flood plain.
Members of council said they are not concerned with the time spent on the project.
We could have really made a mess if we had just let them do what they wanted said Nancy Bain, D-3rd Ward.
It normally takes six months to a year for completion of a major developing project in Athens, said Jim Sands, D-at-large. The application to the community for the NCR retirement community project was signed in November 2004.
We are pretty much on time table he said. I would see us having another committee meeting or two before an ordinance is passed.
Jerry Kuyoth, COO of NCR, and George Berardi, an architect with Berardi & Partners, Inc., met with City Council at Monday night's council meeting to present updates of the project, but another meeting will not be held for at least two weeks.
17
Archives
Meghan Nicholson
