Development authority approves design for first project of West Pace

The Auburn Commercial Development Authority approved the design last week for the first retail project in the West Pace development on South College Street.

The CDA also approved the façade and design plans of the Lynch Nissan car dealership building, the first to be constructed in the new district, CDA Chairman Warren McCord said.

“The Nissan standards are very corporate-driven, but they look very good and seem to meet what we hope to accomplish in this,” he said.

The council-appointed authority was charged with overseeing the formation of a development district when the council approved an agreement with Auburn developer Tom Hayley’s West Pace LLC., allowing the district to issue bonds to pay for the project’s infrastructure.

A development district, which acts like a miniature city, has yet to be formed.

Last week’s meeting was aimed at creating a committee to define the design standards for the project, McCord said. The committee will consist of a member of the CDA board, a city economic development staff member, an individual appointed by the developer and one of the developer’s engineering or marketing employees, he said.

“It’s a step in the process,” McCord said. “The CDA, under the (contract) agreement, must approve all of (the developer’s) designs. And we need the standards against which we measure those designs.

(We created the committee) rather than send it back and forth, back and forth.”

The project has several procedural hurdles to maneuver, including annexation into the city limits, which is part of the city-developer agreement.

Auburn Economic Development Director Phillip Dunlap said he expects a presentation on the development district to be made to the city council, possibly at the council’s July 15 meeting.

The planned West Pace development at the corner of Shugg Jordan Parkway and Interstate 85 at Exit 51 is billed as an upscale shopping center, similar to The Summit in Birmingham.

“The next building we’ll submit (for design review) will be Toyota,” Hayley said. “… We have no big announcements about tenants at this time. We’re keeping that close to the vest.”

The development faces criticism from some area residents concerned about environmental and aesthetic impacts, among other things.

In a separate issue, Hayley has filed suit against the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources after the agency denied the development access to the state-controlled parkway. The case is pending in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

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