Photo from a 2007 Power Point presentation on the Avondale Estates mixed use project. The project fell through and the city has recently purchased the land for it.

The city of Avondale Estates announced it has purchased 4.09 acres in the heart of its downtown that at one point was being redeveloped as a mixed-use project. 

Mayor Ed Rieker sent a letter on Dec. 30 announcing the purchase. The city is acquiring the property, located along Oak Street, Franklin Street and North Avondale Road, for $1 million, the mayor’s letter says. The city is also paying $60,000 in transaction costs, he says. 

Developer Century/AG LLC had bought the property for $10.9 million in 2007. The company’s plans for a mixed-use development with a Publix Supermarket as an anchor store fell through. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2010, court records show. Records show the developer had an outstanding balance of $7.8 million on the Avondale Estates project. 

“Purchasing these four acres provides the City with some flexibility and leverage in the future development of the downtown area,” the mayor writes in his letter. “It also helps to reset and establish new norms for the cost of property in the downtown area which will make it more feasible for quality development to occur.”

The Mayor said the addresses for the property the city is purchasing are:

– 4, 129 and 139 Oak Street

– 64, 68, 70 and 90 North Avondale Road

– 6 and 19 Lake Street

– 3612 Franklin Street

“The expectation is that over the next year or so the City will begin to discuss and collaborate with a variety of potential development partners who will help our community to continue to reshape and improve our downtown,” Rieker’s letter says.