Albany Commission approves timetable for downtown development project
“(If we) give notice and they do not cure it, the loan goes into default earning 9%.”
ALBANY – The Albany City Commission agreed on Tuesday to accept the conditions for a $2 million loan it had extended the previous week to a developer whose downtown project had run into financial difficulty.
A move to reduce the amount of the loan by about $228,000 fell short, allowing the Look Again group to move forward with acquiring 104/106, 110 and 114 N. Washington St. properties for a planned mixed-use development that envisions apartments, a restaurant incubator and restaurant.
Guarantors Elvis Muldrow, Orlando Rambo, Christopher Pike and Lillian Sneed submitted the term sheet to the city giving a timetable of milestones for the $2 million bridge loan over 24 months, at which time a balloon payment is due. Terms call for a 3% interest rate and a 9% rate in the event of default.
“What defines default?” Commissioner Chad Warbington said. “Is it one of those milestones missed that puts it in default?”
Under the terms, the developers will be given notice of a missed milestone and have a period of up to 30 days to comply, City Attorney Michael Custer said.
“(If we) give notice and they do not cure it, the loan goes into default earning 9%,” she said.
The timetable given for the milestones includes the following dates:
- Historic tax credits Phase 1 application: by April 15
- Historic tax credits Phase II application and design development completion: by July 31
- Construction documents complete and secure commitments for occupancy and funding of contemplated lease from Albany Technical College and Dougherty County: by Sept. 20
- Senior debt lender commitment: by Oct. 31
- Approvals for construction, including zoning, historic preservation and building permits: by Dec. 15
- Construction/permanent financing closing: Jan. 31, 2027
Warbington suggested reducing the amount of the loan to $772,000 in order to reduce the chances that the loan would put the city in violation of the state’s gratuities clause. His motion failed for lack of a second from another commissioner.
Afterward, the motion to accept the term sheet with the $2 million loan amount passed with Commissioners Vilnis Gaines, Jon Howard, Willie Weaver and Mayor Bo Dorough voting in favor and Warington opposed.
Commissioners Diana Brown and Collette Jenkins, who had participated in the discussion virtually, did not vote.
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