VIDALIA — The City of Vidalia is considering a plan to borrow $7 million to finance and construct a new “village center” near the new municipal complex on U.S. 84 West.

The plans have not been officially announced, though city officials have approved seeking the bonds to finance the process. The town seeks two bonds $4.5 million for the purchase of land and $2.5 million for “constructing, installing and providing streets and utilities services.”

A portion of the property under consideration was once owned by Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland, Vidalia Riverfront Director H.L. Irvin and Bryant Hammett, who is contracted to serve as Vidalia city engineer. Copeland and Irvin no longer have ownership stakes in the property.

If approved by the Louisiana State Bond Commission, the $4.5 million bonds would have a 5-percent annual interest rate, while the $2.5 million bond would have a 4-percent interest rate.

The city plans to repay the bonds with royalty payments received from the Sidney A. Murray Hydroelectric Plant.

The proposal

Copeland previously characterized the project as “commercial and residential” and “a very big project,” but said it could not be discussed because the deal has not been closed. The mayor again declined to discuss specifics about the project Tuesday, citing similar concerns.

The Vidalia board of aldermen adopted the bond resolution — which is publicly available at Vidalia City Hall — in February, but the document does not detail the land to be purchased.

Louisiana State Bond Commission records offer a few details of the plan, though the request has not formally been heard. The documents indicate the plan includes the discussion of a “village center” with potential retail, hotel and medical complex components.

The proposal includes the potential purchase of land Copeland owned a half-decade ago. A second, adjacent property is included in the bond proposal.

The mayor said because of his past involvement with one of the properties he had no hand in the development of the overall plan, which was instead crafted by consultants with The Orion Planning Group of Memphis.

Concordia Economic Development Executive Director Heather Malone said the village center idea was developed by consultants Laurence Leyens and Bob Barber as part of the work to update of the city’s master plan.

“The consultants came in (2013 and 2014) and held several open community sessions to talk abut what was in the master plan, how it relates to us today and what projects need to be in the books,” Malone said.

“As part of those sessions, those who came broke into groups and identified this property as a potential for a city center. We don’t currently have that in this town because of its history — we don’t have a place to gather.”

Copeland said the land identified as a potential site for the village center was being considered because Vidalia has substantially filled its municipal limits.

“We don’t have anywhere else to grow in Vidalia, the Carter Street corridor is full,” he said. “The only thing we have there is to tear the old buildings down and build commercially, and that takes a long time.”

The property

The bond commission documents indicate that the land in question consists of two separate parcels, 31.67 acres owned by Scroggins Investment Company and 32.72 acres owned by BCHT, LLC.

The lands have vastly different appraisals, and Vidalia Accountant Ashley Anderson wrote in an email included in the bond commission documents that owners of both properties required a separate appraisal.

The Scroggins acreage was appraised at $741,000, while the BCHT land was appraised at $3,775,000.

Scroggins Investment Company was chartered in Vidalia in 1969, and Logan Sewell Jr. of Fayette is listed as its president with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office. Mary Ann Carter of Vidalia is listed as its registered agent and treasurer.

BCHT was originally formed in September 2006 by Hammett, Copeland, Mark Taunton and Irvin. BCHT LLC purchased the property from Joe Pasternack Jr. a month after the LLC was formed, paying approximately $1.7 million for 33 acres.

By September 2010, Copeland, Taunton and Irvin had left the partnership and been replaced by Brad Dutruch of Baton Rouge.

In 2011, BCHT granted the City of Vidalia a right-of-way to improve drainage in the area, and in 2012 the partnership sold less than an acre to Paul Properties of Vidalia.

If the appraisal is accurate, the property has appreciated more than $2 million in the last nine years, bringing the property’s value to $115,372.86 an acre from its 2006 purchase price of $50,000.

Copeland said he lost money on the property when he left the BCHT partnership and has no chance for monetary gain if the project moves forward.

“I sat down with the city council and told them about it, and that I had relinquished my holds in that property. I told them I can’t get involved in it, I am not going to talk to any landowners,” he said. “We have used third-party appraisers and third-party consultants, and I have stayed as far from it as I can because I knew this would be brought up. But I am not getting one penny out of it.”

Malone said those involved are still working with the property owners to identify if they are willing to sell the property.

“The consultants have been very cautious because we know the history of that particular property, and we knew the first thing people would say would be, ‘We know who owned it before,’” she said. “That is why we let the consultants handle every aspect of it, especially to keep the mayor’s office out of it. Everything has been done more cautiously than we probably had to do it because we knew that would be the first thing people say.”

The Scroggins and BCHT appraisals were completed by Henry “Gregg” Wilbanks Jr. with Wilbanks Appraisal Company of Columbia, La.

In the appraisal of the BCHT property submitted to the bond commission, the document states the property is the only significant-sized tract with U.S. 84 frontage “near the center of Vidalia” and the land is the “proposed ‘center piece’ of a planned unit development by the Town of Vidalia for future planned development of a ‘village center’ of retail, hotel and a possible medical center.”

The appraisal says the valuation was based in part on comparisons of relatively recent sales of highway-adjacent and non-highway adjacent lots in the immediate area, including the Walmart property and the land on which the new United Mississippi Bank Vidalia branch sits.

The appraisal for the Scroggins property notes that while U.S. 84 frontage has a daily traffic county of 18,713, the Scroggins property — fronted by Louisiana 3180 — has a daily exposure of 1,180.

Before any purchase can move forward, the bond commission will have to approve the city’s request to take on indebtedness.

Copeland has said he plans to take the matter to the bond commission during its March 19 meeting.