Tuscaloosa developer Stan Pate has suspended his bid to rezone a tract of land off Rice Mine Road for the purpose of student-based housing.
Pate, through the Rice Mine Development LLC, was seeking to rezone the property from highway-related commercial (BH) to multifamily residential (RMF-1) to allow the construction of a student housing project that could have had up to 181 units.
Based on the requested zoning’s allowance of three bedrooms-per-unit, the project could have a total of 543 bedrooms on the 7.28-acre tract just south of 1050 McFarland Blvd. NE between Rice Mine Road Loop and McFarland Boulevard Northeast.
At his request, the City Council voted in November to delay the rezoning vote until March 6 to allow Pate more time to reach some consensus with city leaders on what would be more appropriate for the property.
Now, Pate said he’s opting to hold off the vote for the foreseeable future.
“I am going to suspend the attempts to rezone the property for student housing (and) condominiums … ,” Pate said. “I know I’m letting down the parents of every student at the University of Alabama.”
Pate indicated that one reason for his withdrawal is the non-binding policy adopted by the City Council in 2013 to deny all rezoning requests that would accommodate a development of 200 bedrooms or more.
The policy came at the suggestion of the Student Rental Housing Task Force, a group formed by Mayor Walt Maddox to examine the city’s student-based housing availability and develop recommendations on how to regulate these developments in the future.
Pate said consultations with economists and market experts show the policies and recommendations put forth by this group have amounted to a $100-per-bed inflation in market values for student-based apartments.
He said that his project was meant to help alleviate that, but opposition from neighbors and the City Council’s policy made this impossible, he said.
“Certain folks in City Hall take cover based on a recommendation by a committee, but it’s the job of the politicians to decide, not a committee,” he said. “If you don’t have the normal markets where new product frees up old product, then it’s very difficult to have affordable housing.
“And if there’s one thing that every community needs, it’s affordable housing.”
Pate said he intends to work with City Council President Cynthia Almond, who represents this area as part of District 3, to reach some kind of consensus on what would be an acceptable development for the land.
Its current zoning of highway-related commercial allows for a number of highway- and vehicle-related uses, from vehicle repair shops and gas stations to a drive-in theater or motel.
It also allows for a variety of businesses, such as coffee shops, doctor’s offices, mobile home sales and liquor stores.
Pate said he spent the better part of the past decade attempting to lure a specialty-grocer to the site, going so far as to enlist the services of retail specialists to attract one. Nothing, he said, came to pass.
“it’s just not going to happen,” Pate said, “and I have to do something with the property.”
Almond said she was willing to work with Pate to find a project that would work for him as well as the surrounding neighborhoods.
“I appreciate Mr. Pate’s thoughtfulness and consideration,” she said, “and I look forward to further discussing with him other possible developments that might be appropriate for this site.”
And Steve Stephens, the north Tuscaloosa resident who formed the Alliance for Responsible Growth, in order to oppose Pate’s plans for a student housing development, said he appreciated Pate’s willingness to reconsider.
“I’m happy Mr. Pate is working with our wonderful city councilwoman and the rest of the City Council to try and come up with a solution that will be profitable for him and beneficial to those who live in this district,” Stephens said.
Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.