And now for another installment of Mixed-Use Madness! An old factory site that's been a point of contention for Avondale residents has a new potential development bid from one of its former mayors. The property, which people have been referring to as the Fenner Dunlap site, is of particular interest because of a proposed mixed-use development that's been kept under wraps, much to the chagrin of neighborhood residents. Now, Ed Rieker, who stepped down from his mayoral seat in 2014, is proposing to use the site for soccer fields, but the locals don't seem too impressed.
According to Decaturish, the site has been sitting dormant since 2009 when a conveyor belt plant closed. The City of Avondale annexed the property in 2010 and, most recently, Euramex Management, which has been developing copy/paste luxury apartments outside the Perimeter, purchased the site in 2014. The company proposed building 200 apartments and 80 townhomes with 10,000 square feet of retail but have yet to release any renderings or additional physical plans.
Rieker, for his part, has said the Dunlap redevelopment is years from completion at best, and by the time it opens would be a dud because of the numerous other in-progress developments. His proposal would lease the property from Euramex for 10 years and build out two outdoor and two indoor soccer fields. According to Decaturish, Rieker already went to Euramex with the idea and got little better than an "attaboy." His business partner John Ellingson told Decaturish, "We're an alternative to a concrete pad," which sounds like a great campaign slogan.
· Avondale's former mayor proposes developing soccer fields on Euramex site [Decaturish}
· Discussion about developer's plans for Avondale provides few details [Decaturish]
· Euramex purchases Fenner Dunlop [Decaturish]
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