City staff will ask the Kent City Council in the next few weeks to approve a resolution to try to sell to a developer the Naden Avenue properties, a 7-acre downtown site.
Just two people showed up Tuesday night at City Hall for a public meeting about the proposal to surplus the land. The couple owns a rental property near the site and had concerns about how a development might impact their property value as well as traffic along West Meeker Street.
The city purchased the properties to build an aquatics center at the site but later abandoned that plan because of a lack of funding. City officials are now working with the YMCA to try to build a facility on the East Hill.
The land marks the first to fall under the city’s recently adopted surplus property policy as an effort to notify residents whenever it considers selling property and to hold a hearing for public comment. The council adopted the policy after it sold Pine Tree Park without any public notice but later terminated the sale after public protest.
The 21 parcels, generally bordered by West Meeker Street, the Interurban Trail, Willis Street and Highway 167, are collectively known as the Naden properties.
Ben Wolters, city economic and community development director, said if the council approves trying to sell the property, it will take staff a few months to put the property up for sale. He said several developers have shown an interest in the property, which is zoned for downtown commercial enterprise. That zoning allows a wide range of uses, including offices, hotel and apartments or condos.
“Our expectation is it could develop within the next two to five years,” Wolters said.
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