Potential Westside Inn Owners Seek Tax Break from Sullivan

Potential Westside Inn Owners Seek Tax Break from Sullivan

The potential proprietors of a car dealership intended to be situated on the present site of Westside Inn have approached Sullivan County, Kingsport, for a tax break. Friendship Enterprises, also recognized as Friendship Family of Dealerships, have appealed for a tax increment financing package amounting to $560,000 spanning 25 years.

Steven Bower, serving as the interim economic development director for Kingsport, communicated this request to the Sullivan County Commission. He emphasized that this is the first property they have encountered in the Lynn Garden Redevelopment District and it was hoped that this would spark a ripple of economic progress in the locale.

Bower outlined the details of the proposal to the County Commission during its work session. He is expected to make a comparable request to the city shortly and the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman is slated to make a decision about the request at their regular business assembly on Tuesday. The commission is due to deliberate on the item at their business meeting on Thursday night.

Redevelopment After Health Violations

The request follows closely in the wake of an agreement reached between the inhabitants of the Westside Inn hotel and the owner, C.P. Patel, permitting the tenants until April 19 to evacuate the premises. Patel is currently in transactional discussions with Friendship Enterprises following a declaration by the Tennessee Department of Health that announced the hotel needed to be vacated due to numerous health and safety violations.

Friendship Family of Dealerships aspires to position a Hyundai dealership in the property. It is estimated the investment to accomplish the intended infrastructural development, consisting of demolition, asbestos removal, and filling in certain areas, will cost over $13 million a year, with three million being spent merely on site work according to Bower.

Reception by the Commission

The responses from the commissioners varied. Commissioner Joe Carr, representative of the district, proclaimed full support for the project and asked that his name be added as a co-sponsor of the resolution. Commissioner Dwight King, however, expressed reservations about granting the tax break, despite voicing his approval of the redevelopment proposal. He suggested the idea of extending a loan to Friendship Enterprises to assist with the demolition, which they would reimburse at a later date. This, he proposed, would obviate a lingering TIF.

A representative of Friendship Enterprises, Lynn Shipley from TCI Group, asserted to the commission that the project is presently estimated to be a million dollars over their desired investment for the project to be profitable. Thus, the TIF is crucial to close this financial gap, making this a feasible transaction for Friendship Enterprises.