Reading Valdosta city leaders’ and property owners’ description of Tuesday’s $5.62 million sell of 22.15 acres of the Five Points shopping center makes the deal sound like a win-win scenario.
City leaders can redesign Five Points into a gateway for Valdosta, convert the area into an engine of economic development, stave off poor drainage, improve the flow of traffic, and further cultivate the arts and education. And the city did not have to follow through on a controversial plan to condemn the property.
Five Points owners will likely see commercial benefits from the 7.39 acres of property remaining in their possession. They will make more than five-and-a-half million bucks from the deal. And they likely will no longer have to hear people refer to the mostly empty property as an eyesore at the entrance to Valdosta.
The deal may sound like a win-win situation to critics on both sides of the Five Points condemnation controversy, too. The city will not make a land grab to attain Five Points. Five Points will have a more attractive look.
This newspaper has been a vocal critic of the city’s plans to acquire Five Points through condemnation. We are pleased there will be no condemnation. We are glad to see that the City of Valdosta has paid a fair market price for the property. And the development of Five Points is welcome after decades of appearing abandoned and neglected.
Yet, we must wonder if the city wouldn’t have been better served had Five Points been saved for eventual commercial development. Had Five Points one day returned to a predominantly commercial use, the city and taxpayers would have benefited from the tax revenues. With the city’s plans for civic uses of the property, Five Points’ once and future commercial potential vanishes.
We must also wonder if the city couldn’t have pursued property more centrally located to downtown for a new auditorium. Could a deal have been struck that would have solidified Downtown Valdosta’s efforts to once again be a commercial and cultural hub for the city?
And, even though there will now be no condemnation of Five Points, we must wonder if the City of Valdosta will again threaten condemnation to get what it wants. Condemnation should be a tool for a city’s good not a weapon to enforce a city’s demands.
So, yes, the Five Points deal is a win. But a win-win? We think not. Too much has been lost in the process.
