As the city prepares to sell two more
properties on lower Dexter Avenue, people
with an interest in historic preservation
have formed a committee to aid city
officials and developers with the
rehabilitation process.
Two properties -- 25 and 62 Dexter Ave.
-- are on the agenda for tonight's
Montgomery City Council meeting. The
council has approved the sale of all the
lower Dexter Avenue properties to date.
The city is ready to sell 62 Dexter Ave. to
Scott Williams and Steve Hughes, who are
the same developers who purchased 58
Dexter Ave., for $55,000. The last
appraisal, which was done in 2009, gave
the former Off The Wagon location a value
of $180,000.
Since there are drainage issues at 58 and
62 Dexter Ave., the new owners may
demolish everything but the facade of 58
Dexter Ave. and turn the two properties
into one large mixed-use development with
a commercial use on the first floor and
residences on the other floors.
The adjacent 58 Dexter Ave. had a 2009
appraised value of $138,000 and was sold
for $30,000.
"The sale here is more for the land value
than anything else," Deputy Mayor Jeff
Downes said Monday.
James Fuller, a Montgomery historian who
is part of a new advisory committee that he
has dubbed the Montgomery Historical
Structures Committee, said the members of
the committee plan to look into whether the
buildings can be salvaged.
The other property that is on the agenda
for today, 25 Dexter Ave., may be sold to
Helms Robertson Investments for $85,000.
As of 2009, it had an appraised value of
$137,000.
The city purchased about a dozen
properties in the area for $3.2 million and
has been selling them at a discount as a
way of extending an economic
development incentive to developers.
Helms Robertson Investments plans to turn
Advertisement 25 Dexter Ave. into a mixed-used
development that, like the other projects,
would have a commercial use on the first
floor and residences on the other floors.
"I believe (the purchase-sale agreements
are) consistent with the philosophy and the
deals we have struck with the other
properties," Downes said Monday of the
proposed terms for 25 and 62 Dexter.
As for the newly created committee that
has formed in response to the lower Dexter
Redevelopment project, Downes said he
thought it was positive to have "a lot of
eyes" on the projects.
In addition to their knowledge and
familiarity with historic structures, Fuller
said the committee members also bring
their first-person experience with the
downtown buildings.
"This committee is made up of a bunch of
old folks who have been around a long
time and they know what was there and
what it was like," Fuller said.
Fuller said the committee aims to assist the
city in preserving the "historic flavor and
feeling of Dexter Avenue," and to offer
practical solutions to problems that often
arise when working with aged buildings.
So far this year, the city has sold 11, 15,
39, 58 and 78 Dexter Ave., as well as a
vacant lot on South Perry Street and
Washington Avenue. Work is well underway
at 78 Dexter Ave., which have a restaurant
on the first and second floors.
Fuller praised the city for taking action now
with all the lower Dexter Avenue structures.
Without the city's involvement, the buildings
would have likely continued to sit idle and
vacant for years to come, he added.
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