The Unified Government Commission on Thursday night unanimously approved the Armourdale Master Plan.
Consultant Andrew Moddrell said the area was unique in that it was surrounded by natural barriers such as rivers and other barriers, such as railroad tracks.
The area has a rich history with residents and meatpacking plants located there, and was a victim of the 1951 flood. The new master plan includes residential development.
It is a neighborhood that has endured the past 70 years with a significant lack of investment and resources, Moddrell said.
This process definitively says in 2021 that Armourdale is here to stay, after 100 years of neglect, and now there is an opportunity to deliver resources to Armourdale that it so richly deserves, he said.
According to UG officials, this version of the master plan that passed Thursday included a few things left out of the earlier versions, including a few parcels.
The Armourdale area is expected to see some development in the future as a result of the Rock Island Bridge restoration project. The bridge is expected to become a tourist attraction and event center. Apartment projects are proposed nearby.
The plan previously had been discussed by committees and the commission, and received prior approval. To see a previous story, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/public-open-house-today-on-armourdale-master-plan/.
The commission also approved a development agreement for the Legends Hotel project.
Developers are building a Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott at 98th and Parallel Parkway. The hotel would have a 1,000-square foot conference room and an indoor pool.
The development agreement calls for a community improvement district sales tax of 1.5 percent on top of existing state and local sales taxes, according to Patrick Waters, UG attorney.
The total project budget is $10.7 million, and it is requesting a maximum of $1.5 million in CID incentives, he said.
There are no bonds associated with the project, he added. It would be a pay-as-you-go project.
The 1.5 percent in additional sales tax would be paid only by customers visiting the hotel, and would be used to reimburse construction costs, developer Rubin Ranat of Legends Hotel said. The project is within the STAR bond district, according to Waters, and this CID is separate from the STAR bonds.
According to Waters, there are no industrial revenue bonds and no tax abatements with the project, which would pay full property taxes to the UG. It also would pay the transient guest tax to the UG.
The first motion on the hotel, for the community improvement district, passed 9-1, with Commissioner Tom Burroughs voting no. The second motion, for the hotel development agreement, passed 10-0.
Also approved were assignment and assumption agreements in the ownership of auto dealerships in the Legends area. They were splitting into three parts, although they had the same owners, according to UG officials. The agreements will continue with the three, according to UG officials.
Also, an effort to build homes in the downtown area near 9th and Walker moved ahead, after having been delayed from a previous meeting. The developers met with a neighborhood group, and the Land Bank applications then moved forward.
In other action, the commission set aside for two months an application to keep horses on a property in the Bell Crossing and Sortor Drive area. Staff had recommended denial of the application for the special use permit, based on recommendations from the conservation district and planning staff. More acreage was needed for the number of horses sought to be on the property, the district stated. The applicant, who had discussed doing a survey, may return in two months.