Re-thinking Opelika Road

Michael Hansberry-The Auburn Villager Opelika Road

The Opelika Road corridor connecting the adjacent cities of Opelika and Auburn may see a major redevelopment effort over the next decade, say Auburn's city manager Charlie Duggan and mayor Bill Ham. "Let's face it, Opelika Road doesn't look too good," Ham said. "In my mind the city needs to get involved with providing incentives to revitalize, redevelop and remodel."

Both Ham and Duggan noted that there are numerous parcels along Opelika Road that are vacant and will be redeveloped at some point. Some of the sites, including the former Lynch auto dealerships, incorporate multiple acres.

"The intersection of East University and Opelika Road is still one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in the county," Ham said. "Opelika Road has had a tremendous amount of commerce over the years, and we as a city need to encourage redevelopment for it to maintain viability as a tax generating area."

City services are funded by sales tax revenue, and with the development of Tiger Town and the surrounding area in Opelika, Auburn shoppers have been taking their dollars out of town.

A redevelopment effort along Opelika Road--similar to the more conventional efforts cities have made to redevelop downtown areas--could mean increased sales tax revenues for the city.

Duggan said Auburn City Council members have received draft budget information and departmental goals, with one of the goals for the planning and economic development departments being to look into the redevelopment project.

"The idea was first mentioned to us by Mayor Ham," Duggan said. "A car dealership is moving out to West Pace Crossing, and he wants to make sure that Opelika Road remains viable."

West Pace Crossing is an auto mall and proposed shopping center being developed at Exit 51 between I-85 and Shell Toomer Parkway.

Duggan said he thought the idea was a good one, and planning staff and city council members all seem enthusiastic.

"We're going to be exploring all the options," Duggan said. "We don't have a plan put together, but we expect it will take a good bit of staff time so we wanted to make sure the city council knew what we were working on."

He added that Opelika Road is almost like a second downtown area, and it made sense to think about revitalization over the next few decades, including more landscaping and planting of trees. The idea, Duggan said, is to move Opelika Road away from its identity as a state highway towards a corridor that is more attractive and more congruent with the rest of the city.

"We're not going to be forcing people to change," Duggan stressed. "It's just that at some point buildings of a certain age will be remodeled or replaced, and what we want to explore is all the ways the city can encourage that to happen in a complementary way."

Ultimately, he said, a revitalization effort could make all the property along Opelika Road more valuable, so property owners will benefit. Ham agreed that the city and property owners could both benefit.

Possible incentives could include tax breaks or tax sharing, Ham said.

"Typically, in the scenario we've seen in Opelika or with West Pace, tax revenue is shared with the developer, but it might also be the land owner," he said. "Obviously, the money goes back to the project to help defray the cost of redevelopment, but it's good for the city because we get sales tax revenue we're not currently getting."

A large site such as that occupied by the Lynch dealerships could hypothetically be redeveloped with a retail anchor and multiple other stores generating a high volume of sales tax revenue, Ham said. The city could then afford to share that new tax revenue with the developer as an incentive to make the project happen.

Duggan said it's a good time for Opelika Road to have some attention.

"Nothing happens overnight," he said. "Someone once said ‘It's better to do something instead of nothing while we're waiting to do everything,' and this is one of our efforts to get the incremental change that ultimately makes the city stronger and better."