Ham brags on city's accomplishments

With a Downtown Master Plan in progress, along with a renewal of other main corridors like Opelika Road, the city isn't stagnant, according to Ham.

“I think you’re either moving forward or backward; you can’t stand still,” Ham said.

As 2014 ended, Ham discussed how the city plans to continue what it started last year and in doing so maintain Auburn’s reputation as the “Loveliest Village on the Plains.”

Downtown Master Plan

Auburn’s Downtown Master Plan will continue in 2015, most recently with work starting on the renovation of alleyways between the Gay Street Municipal Parking Lot and Magnolia Avenue and College Street.

Plans are to update the alleyways to make them more attractive while feeling safer during the evening hours.

“Those are under contract, and we’ll be starting soon,” Ham said.

Also, Ham said citizens can soon expect new trees to be planted at Toomer’s Corner.

“Really ever since the trees were poisoned, and the final decision to take the oaks down, we’re doing really a combined, collaborative effort on the city’s part of the corner along with an understanding of what the university had planned to do and try to make them work in harmony with each other,” Ham said. “So the trees are supposed to be brought in and planted in the next couple of months, and we will start that project.”

In the past year, accomplishments within the realm of the Downtown Master Plan, which intends to expand the city’s “urban core” southward and westward while meeting the needs of Auburn citizens, have included increased parking in the city’s municipal lot off of Gay Street. The new lot also serves as a gathering space for community events.

“We built that as really a venue that can be used not only for parking, but we’ve had a number of community events there — some band parties or band scenarios with live entertainment before major football games. We hosted with big screens…football and soccer downtown. That new parking lot has worked out really well.”

Historic revitalization also comes to mind, with Matt Poirier, current owner of The Hound, announcing his plan to convert the old Auburn Train Depot into a new restaurant.

“It’s been vacant for years and years, and I hope that it will spawn and encourage redevelopment,” Ham said.

Renew Opelika Road

Shifting focus to another main city thoroughfare, Ham said the first phase of Auburn’s Renew Opelika Road Project is underway. It involves new sidewalks, crosswalks traffic signals, streetlights and landscaping elements to make the area of Opelika Road between Gay and Ross streets more pedestrian friendly.

Phase two will address the intersection of Opelika Road and East University Drive near the Village Mall, while Phase 3 involves restoring the Opelika Road/Dean Road intersection.

“If you look all the way out, of course there’ll be expansive roadway improvements — median, sidewalks, lighting — but also the ability to try and help the retailers along Opelika Road to revitalize their properties and make them look better,” Ham said.

Another part of the plan that has been successful was the city’s commercial development incentive program, prompting businesses along Opelika Road to renovate buildings and properties in exchange for a rebate on their sales taxes. Mugshots (in the former Chili’s location) and Auburn Furniture are two examples of businesses that have utilized the program.

Also tied to the Opelika Road corridor, Auburn's Carmike 14 movie theater recently opened its new "Big D" screen and plans to renovate the rest of its existing facility in 2015 to match Carmike's newer Opelika location.

Ham further cited improvements to Auburn Mall and said he expects that a new retail center will replace the vacant Kmart building across from the mall in 2015.

“Opelika Road, ultimately, it’s going to take a number of years, but we look for a total makeover between BB&T and the city limits,” Ham said.

Economic growth

Ham said the number of jobs in the city has steadily increased over the past 15 years, and he expects that trend to continue into 2015.

“We’ve got a number of industries that are expanding, and that’s always a good sign,” Ham said. “You can locate industries, but if they don’t thrive and continue to grow, they can tend to be a problem.”

Among those industries that are expanding, Ham referenced Touchtone Precision, Seung Chang Airtek, Inc. (SCA) and RAPA Automotive.

Also, GE Aviation announced earlier this year its initiative to start 3D printing at its Auburn facility to manufacture jet engine nozzles in 2015. The additive manufacturing facility will be a $125 million overall investment by GE and will result in more than 300 full time jobs.

“It’s a key development in the future of manufacturing, particularly in our area and particularly for the aviation industry,” Ham said.

Ham added that this year Auburn was ranked in the Top 10 of Best Small Places for Business and Careers by Forbes magazine.

Apartments

Toward the end of 2014, the city held a community meeting to discuss whether a potential moratorium on the further construction of apartments in the city was warranted. Citizens and business owners on both sides of the issue revealed that there were strong opinions on both sides of the issue.

The city council has not yet taken action on a moratorium and is waiting for the results of a study that will show information related to the number of vacancies in certain student-dominated apartment complexes and more.

“Going forward, I think the council probably in January or by mid February will have some results for the update on the assessment of our current number of units and vacancies and make some decision going forward,” Ham said.

In 2014, Ham said the planning commission has implemented changes in reference to apartments. One of those is that apartments in the specified “urban core” of the city will be required to house retail space on the bottom floor.

“Urban core zoning has been expanded some, so I think eventually we’ll see some more residential with retail in the areas of downtown,” Ham said.

Also, apartments built outside of the urban core or university services zones of the city are now designated as “conditional use” and will have to come before the council for approval.

“There are a host of reasons under conditional use that the council could vote against it,” Ham said.

New high school

Despite a failed initiative to pass a property tax increase to fund a new high school in Auburn, Ham indicated that it was a need that has to be met. There was a 3.83 percent increase, or 298 new students, from last school year to this current school year.

“We have redistributed and reallocated and recommitted some funds…,” Ham said. “The city now has gone from $9.5 million annually out of the general fund given to the schools to $15.4 million, going to a little over $16 million...”

Architects have been hired for the new school, which is slated to open in 2017 and which will house grades 10-12 with a 2,200-student capacity while converting the current Auburn High School to cater to grades eight and nine as a junior high.

Ham said the city council has plans to meet with the Auburn Board of Education on Jan. 26 to discuss the process of bidding the school.

Tiger Lodge

In the wake of the December murder of Auburn University football player Jakell Mitchell at Auburn’s Tiger Lodge apartments, Ham said law enforcement is still working with complex owners to bolster safety.

Ham suggested that the screening of potential tenants could be implemented; however, he noted that neither the victim nor the accused shooter involved in the recent tragedy was a resident of Tiger Lodge.

“If you look historically at the number of murders that happen in the city of Auburn, there are very few, but if you look at the concentration, a murder that happened this year was there, and two years ago we had three there,” Ham said. “Our police division, our police chief, has met with the ownership. There continues to be ongoing dialogue. We want to do everything we can do legally to help them and encourage them.”

Looking ahead

With new city council members elected to office in 2014, Ham said he has been pleased working with the council thus far and is looking forward to seeing the city continuing to benefit from the council’s positive input.

“They’re energetic and want to see new projects happen,” Ham said.

As the city grows, Ham said the key is to promote growth that ultimately enhances the quality of life for Auburn’s citizens.

“I think we are going to continue to experience growth,” Ham said. “I think what we’ve got to focus on is knowing that that growth is going to be quality growth and positive growth.

“I think if you look across the state, this area, East Alabama, particularly Lee County, is one of the very bright spots in the state as far as its economy, the low unemployment rates, the new jobs,” Ham continued. “Certainly, the anchor of all of that is Auburn University and all that it brings to the table. So I’m excited about 2015 and beyond. I think we’re poised for some really great times going forward.”

Opelika-Auburn News File Photo

Jay Gogue, Auburn University president, speaks at the GE Aviation plant in Auburn, Ala., Tuesday, July 15, 2014. GE Aviation announced that it would be starting part development of fuel injectors for one of itsjet engines at the plant using a 3-D printing method. GE Aviation stated in a press release that this expansion would bring about 300 new jobs to the area in the next decade.

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