A pair of dueling lawsuits between the City of Sanford and a developer were recently settled with the city agreeing to pay Nick Jordan $60,000 over the nearly 5-acre Singer property at 171 N. First St.
According to a press release from Friday, Aug. 9, the city came to an agreement with Jordan’s Durham-based Smashing Boxes LLC after the parties were ordered to a mediated settlement by Lee County Superior Court Judge C. Winston Gilchrist on March 25.
According to the agreement, Jordan and Smashing Boxes will dismiss their claims that they had a right to own the property and were owed $150,000. The $60,000 would be paid by the city’s insurance company, according to the release.
After Jordan’s software development company paid a $20,000 deposit toward the $490,000 purchase, the city in November decided to exercise a purchase option because Jordan took too long moving forward.
Jordan issued a letter of intent to purchase the property from Original Investors Inc. in June 2021, but the city said it retained the right to purchase the property after having turned it down in 2021. The city’s option to buy was set to expire March 31, according to city attorney Susan Patterson.
The site is one of three under consideration by the city for use as a rail station or mobility hub.
In March the city received news that it and the North Carolina Department of Transportation were not approved for a $33 million Reconnecting Cities and Neighborhoods federal grant to improve the property for use as part of an S-Line that would connect Sanford with Raleigh and points north.
With the settlement agreement in place, the city has achieved its main goal, which is to retain ownership of the Singer property, according to the press release.
“We can now get back to the business of serving the public purpose by transforming this area of downtown and East Sanford into the Sanford Central Green, fulfilling our long-term vision for the community,” Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon said in the release. She called the settlement a sound business decision.
Will Gordon, one of three attorneys representing Jordan, called the city’s press release “a preemptive attempt to spin the facts and save face. The city did not recover any money on its counterclaims, which were partially dismissed, and paid Mr. Jordan $60,000 for his troubles. The bottom line is that the city missed an opportunity to benefit from millions of dollars of private investment and violated federal regulations in the process. In doing so, the city did a disservice to the citizens of Sanford.”
In regard to the violation, Gordon previously noted that a March 1 email from NCDOT official Grady A. McCollum said that the city could not acquire the property in question prior to completion of the federal process related to the National Environmental Policy Act. The city closed on the property in late November, paying $490,000.
Gordon said the city’s purchase of the property in effect nixed the federal grant.
The 4.84 acres was appraised at $242,000 and the Singer Building at $367,600 for a total of $609,600, according to the city’s counterclaim.
The city paid paid $36,000 to Original Investors Inc. over three years for its option to purchase, according to the city’s attorney, Charles E. Raynal IV of Raleigh.
Anchored by the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace on one end and the Sanford Municipal Center on the other, the Sanford Central Green concept includes options for a mobility hub, facilities available for public use, a greenway and restoration of Little Buffalo Creek, the release states.
The goal for this concept is to create a foundation for a variety of potential public uses, including festivals, public art displays, youth activities and more. The concept also increases Sanford’s “walkability,” mitigates major flooding concerns, and lays the groundwork for continued improvements.
“We want to energize and continue revitalizing downtown and East Sanford by creating a space that will serve our community for generations to come,” Salmon said. “This agreement allows us to continue to piece together a broad vision we’ve been working toward for years.”
The community can expect to see movement on the Sanford Central Green starting this fall with the groundbreaking for the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace, according to the release.
According to David Montgomery, senior planner, earlier this year the city and NCDOT hired Stantec, a consultant, to do a $950,000 mobility hub feasibility study that required a $190,000 city match.
For more information about the Sanford Central Green, including concept renderings, funding details, and related projects, visit the city’s projects hub at www.sanfordnc.net/projects.
