MOUNT VERNON — The redevelopment of the former Siemens campus moved another step forward on Thursday when Mount Vernon’s Municipal Planning Commission approved a comprehensive development plan for what’s now known as Cooper Progress Park.
Jeff Gottke, president of the Knox County Land Bank, told the commission the plan was the result of two years of work, planning, and discussion.
“It’s a comprehensive plan that I think will be an economic driver for the city of Mount Vernon as well as a scope for the property that will stand on its own over time,” he said. “You’ve got one property that has had one owner since 1863, and now we’re attempting to turn it into a multi-tenant industrial park for manufacturing and commercial uses that is also integrated into the community.”
The land bank owns most of the site except for a few parcels Schlumberger retains. Those parcels will eventually transition to the land bank.
A property owners association will manage the complex. Each property owner is a member of the POA with voting rights for the POA Board of Directors.
The plan calls for parcel boundaries that essentially reflect the footprint of each building. The remaining space is common area. Gottke said boundaries were drawn that way because it is not known what the usage needs, such as space for docks or ramps, will be of the building occupants.
“Rather than trying to assign space, we just left it open and they can negotiate with the property owners association if they need to buy some of that common area,” he explained.
Tenants can buy or lease the parcels, although Gottke said the land bank prefers to sell.
The plan identifies 681 parking spots. Tenants will buy parking passes for their employees as needed. The money goes toward maintaining the common area.
“We did not want to assign parking to buildings because we don’t know what the need will be,” Gottke said.
The asphalt on two parking lots east of Adams Street will be removed and seeded with grass until such time as additional parking is needed.
Harrison Township resident Eric Helt opposed the development plan. He said he was speaking as a private citizen, not as a member of the Knox County Health District Board. However, he clarified the reasons why the board declined to relocate the health department to Cooper Progress Park.
He noted a significant reason was the lack of a deed to the property. The POA came into play late in the process, primarily because the fee assessment structure was not budgetable.
Helt said he does not see a need for the POA as there is no common interest among tenants and underground utilities are easily accessed by several parcels. He voiced concern that the land bank controls the POA board votes until five properties are sold.
Referencing budgeting and unknown costs, he feels POA assessments are probably inadequate and there is not adequate capital set aside, that the land bank is not large enough or capitalized enough to manage the property, and questioned whether the land bank will share in the assessment as an owner.
He recommended carving out some of the parcels as separate entities and assembling a larger body than the land bank to capitalize and manage the complex.
Zachary DiMarco of Critchfield Critchfield and Johnston, legal counsel for the land bank, responded that splitting up a property that has been under one owner for so long is implausible, hence the move toward multiple users and a POA.
He said the land bank’s goal is not to be the hand that controls the campus, but to develop a multi-user campus that is for the benefit of the community.
Gottke responded that there is shared interest in maintaining the private streets, snow removal, less expensive parking, and landscaping. He said the land bank will pay its fair share of fees, that assessments are determined by an elected board, and that as buildings are sold, the land bank’s share is diluted.
Safety-service Director Richard Dzik said that as SSD, his first obligation is to the city. Noting that if the land bank wants to abandon the utilities, they become the city’s obligation.
“This might be the best way to fill the park and keep the risk to the city low,” he said.
The commission unanimously approved the comprehensive development plan.
Commission members also unanimously approved rezoning 12.5 acres on Newark Road from neighborhood commercial to PND (planned neighborhood development).
The land is part of the parcel proposed for residential development as the PND Liberty Crossing. The remaining acres in the parcel are zoned PND.
City Engineer Brian Ball said that Pleasant Township trustees asked multiple questions about the project but had no further comment after they received the information.
