The owner of the former Colonial Golf & Country Club in Harahan said Thursday that a proposed 15-acre shopping center along Jefferson Highway is the only commercial development he ever envisions on the 88-acre property
The owner of the former Colonial Golf & Country Club in Harahan said Thursday that a proposed 15-acre shopping center along Jefferson Highway is the only commercial development he ever envisions on the 88-acre property. John Georges also said he has no immediate plans to build houses or redevelop the rest of the land, almost all of which is zoned residential.
His comments came as city officials are divided over the proposed shopping center. Stirling Properties, which wants to build the retail development, plans to discuss details at a public meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Harahan Playground gymnasium.
Georges bought the bankrupt golf club last year with real estate developer Wayne Ducote. He said they're selling the 15-acre section along the highway to pay the debt on the property. He estimated the debt at $3.5 million to $4 million.
Other than that, Georges said he doesn't intend to rezone the remaining 73 acres or seek any other commercial development. "There will be no more commercial development on the property. It's pretty much over after that," Georges said referring to the proposed shopping center.
Stirling did not return a call seeking comment this week. The developer wants to build a grocery store, a stand-alone pharmacy, a bank, a restaurant and retail stores on the site, according to city officials who have been briefed on the plans. Georges said the sale of the 15 acres to Stirling is conditioned upon the City Council rezoning that portion for commercial use.
Some council members, however, have said they want to see plans for the rest of the golf course before signing off on the rezoning for the shopping center.
"It's very important to me not to move forward with the commercial rezoning until we know what's going on with the entire property," Councilwoman Dana Huete said earlier this month.
"I understand the tax issue, but I need to know what's going on in the back," Councilman Eric Chatelain said.
Mayor Vinny Mosca has said the city needs the $1 million in annual taxes that the shopping center would bring. The figure represents about a fifth of Harahan's $5.5 million budget.
Mosca said the extra money would cover the deficit caused by Hurricane Isaac last year and finance as much as $10 million in improvements to sewerage, roads and playgrounds. "It would afford us a luxury we haven't had in many years," Mosca said.
The 88-year-old golf club closed in 2012, felled by an excess of courses in the New Orleans area and the same membership decline that has doomed many golf courses across the country in recent years. Georges and Ducote purchased the property last summer, agreeing to pay $8.5 million to the club's creditors.
The future of the golf course has always been a contentious topic in Harahan. Colonial is one of the few large green tracts left in East Jefferson, and neighbors have opposed past development proposals, citing drainage and traffic concerns.
Past plans included failed efforts by previous owners to rezone the rear of the property, along the Mississippi River, to allow a multi-story condominium development. Georges on Thursday said he opposes building condominiums or high-rise buildings on the golf course.
"There will be no condos and no high-rises. No way, Jose," Georges said.
He said all of Colonial's property is zoned for residential use, except for the now-closed clubhouse, which he said is zoned commercial. But Georges said he has no idea when he will seek to build any homes on the property. In the meantime, he said he plans to continue cutting the grass and keeping it as green space.
"We're not doing anything with the back, until we get an idea," Georges said. "I'd like to eventually build my house there, but I'm not in a hurry."