The Demopolis City Council will decide whether to grant a developer permission to remodel the old school on Main Street and restore the building so the Canebrake Players can stay in the school while adding 19 high-efficiency apartments to the old school and building a new complex with up to 20 condos.

The plan has been a central topic during the last two Planning Commission meetings. At the June 16 meeting, Mayor Woody Collins introduced developer TJ Maloney, who presented the plan using a PowerPoint presentation to show what they plan to do with the building.

Collins said the project meets three criteria on his list: It would save the facility, protect the Canebrake Players and provide additional housing options for people moving to Demopolis.

“The time will quickly come when (Canebrake Players) will no longer have a home,” Collins said of the current condition of the building.

Plans to renovate the old school

Maloney, who works at Lathan Development, said they have been working on the plan all year. He said the proposed agreement with the city would force the owners to maintain all aspects of the building or the city would have the option to buy the building back at a “reasonable” price.

He showed several projects where they had redeveloped other properties across the state and then revealed plans to build 19 market rate single family homes. Eight of these will be one bedroom apartments ranging from 250 to 350 square feet that will not have bathrooms in the apartments. Four one bedroom apartments with one bathroom will also be available ranging from 250 to 450 square feet. The remaining seven apartments will be classroom sized and will be one bedroom apartments with one bathroom and laundry hookups ranging from 450 to 750 square feet.

They would enter into a 99-year lease with the City of Demopolis that would allow the City public use of the auditorium, balcony, basement and public restrooms. Access to the residential units would be separate from the auditorium area.

20 additional condominiums

The second phase of the project will add up to 20 additional condominiums to the rear of the property. The new building will complement the existing school, which is currently proposed as a three-bedroom, two-bathroom residential unit. There is no timeline yet for the second phase or what the final version will look like.

This second phase has caused problems for some residents. At the Planning Commission meeting in July, several residents raised concerns about traffic and other issues with the additional development.

The motion was to rezone the property at 601 South Main Street from R-2 single-family to R-4 multi-family. Discussion at this meeting ended with a 4-4 tie vote at the Planning Commission.

Community concerns

Jennifer Roeman of the Canebrake Players said she was grateful to the city for allowing them to use the building, but she was concerned that the second phase could cause problems for performances in the auditorium.

“We’ve tried to take care of the building and manage it well since we’ve been allowed to use it,” Roeman said. “I’m concerned that if our guests have to park all the way down the street, they might not be able to come. They might not be able to come back here.”

“I think maybe this is an opportunity for our city to promote the arts and take them to the next level – similar to the Sportsplex – to help the arts department.”

Another resident was concerned about how the development would affect parking. Plans call for about 20 apartments to be built in the old school building. He was concerned that parking would spill onto South Main Street, especially during performances.

Council meeting

The city council will decide on this during its regular meeting on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. The council’s working session begins at 4:00 p.m.

Maloney said he is aware that if the property is rezoned to build the condos, he will need a subdivision permit, but they are willing to move forward with the redevelopment.