Mayor Lioneld Jordan (left) and Ward 3 Alderman Martin Schoppmeyer look at a broken skylight in an abandoned office inside the former Tyson Mexican Original plant Monday afternoon.
Photo by Todd Gill, Flyer staff
The city will likely receive at least $100,000 more than expected for the former Tyson Mexican Original plant in southeast Fayetteville.
City Council members voted Tuesday to give two interested parties an opportunity to up the amount they’re willing to pay for the city-owned property at Huntsville and Happy Hollow roads.
The former plant is located at the intersection of Huntsville and Happy Hollow roads.
Aerial photo: Google Maps
Aldermen were set to decide on a $900,000 offer from Kum & Go Tuesday night, but a last-minute offer of $1 million from Casey’s General Store caused Kum & Go to increase their offer, setting the stage for a potential bidding war.
Both companies have agreed to purchase roughly two acres of the 10-acre property, and to pay up to $100,000 toward the cost of demolishing the abandoned factory before building a new gasoline and convenience store on the east side of the site.
Instead of deciding on a buyer Tuesday night, council members agreed to table the issue and accept a final round of sealed offers before reconsidering the sale in three weeks.
In order to keep things fair, City Attorney Kit Williams said the plan is to wait until the Feb. 5 council meeting before opening any of the sealed bids.
“The City Council then could consider both offers and determine what is most advantageous for the citizens of Fayetteville,” said Williams.
A crew of city workers and police officers helped lead a tour through the plant’s abandoned rooms using flashlights and gas generator-powered lights on Monday.
Photo: Todd Gill
Both Kum & Go and Casey’s General Store must deliver their final offers to Williams by 4 p.m. the day of the meeting. All other interested parties have until Jan. 28 to become eligible to present a sealed bid of their own.
“I think it is important for us to consider tabling this, because this is an important piece of property, and it’s evident that there is interest in it,” said Ward 2 Alderman Mark Kinion. “We do need to look at this deliberately and with as much information as we can have in front of us.”
The city purchased the 11.2-acre property for $1.1 million in 2004. Part of the land was used to build a new fire station and to realign and widen Huntsville Road.
The factory building has since been vandalized and stripped of its valuable metals. Broken windows and skylights have led to mold-infested ceilings and overwhelming water damage to the plant’s walls and floors.
If the property is sold, Williams said the city could then sell another commercially-viable two-acre lot and keep the remaining land for city use.
» See photos taken during a recent tour of the abandoned factory
Who wants to drive by something called Kum and Go on their way home? That is a name for a brothel, not a legitemate business.
There is a church to the north of the site and a neighborhood with children to the east. They deserve a business with a name that reflects self respect in that location.
If Kum and Go offers $100,000.00 more for the location they still should not get it. We will be looking at the business in that location long after an extra $100,000.00 is spent and forgotten. Show a little class, Fayetteville.
A brothel is a legitimate business.
I’ve wondered what they have going on in their restrooms….
ha. the first post made me laugh. Although, i hope you are joking. To denya business the right to operate because they have a name that, to some people, resembles a dirty word or phrase is laughable.
Though i don’t like the look of a gas station, i dont like the look of a dangerous, old, dilapidated building. My vote is for whatever brings in jobs, has a sound business plan, and pays the most.
Such a typical Fayetvillian answer… Somebody wanting to deny a business because they themselves think the word KUM is “offensive” :) We should outlaw christmas songs like “O COME all ye faithfull” the church should riot over that one and I’m sure nobody in Fayetteville would sing that dirty song ;) In a town where there is all kinds of crazy it’s laughable that someone could be offended by a legitimate, and nice I might add, gas station providing additional tax revenue on a corner that could use a C-store. Do you work for Casey’s??? :) No doubt if Kum & Go was a place to take in stray cats and dogs and then re- release them to new families the name would be regarded as amazingly thoughtful and great (priorities, faytown?). SInce it’s a business that provides tax revenue we need to make it as hard on them as possible to exist, then demand they help support everyone in the city that wants more “community” projects and animal shelters funded by the tax dollars of the businesses they look down on… dumb, just dumb.
I love the part of O Come All Ye Faithful, where the background chorus goes “come, come, come, come, come”
FYI, the city of Fayetteville does not collect sales tax on fuel sales.
Which is why having newer c-stores offering food, drinks, coffee and a better assortment of retail items is much better for the city than the small format gas and cigarette stores.
How did the Tyson M.O. building get into such bad shape? Did the city buy it dilapidated? Did the city let it get run down even more? Why sudden indignation and rush? K&G isn’t everyone’s idea of green or smart. If the city’s been irresponsible for the past decade on this, is that a reason for being irresponsible now and going for “whatever pays the most”?
This discussion reminds me that a few years ago Cummins Inc changed their ticker symbol from CUM to CMI. True story.