Mayor Requests New Lease for Illegally Built Deck on Colony Property; Advises Way to Avoid Historic Preservation Committee Recommendations on People's Co-Operative Store Building

On the Parking Authority meeting agenda for October 30, 2023 was a request for a new lease to be issued to the owners of a building on Church Street adjacent to the parking garage. The lease is for a deck that is attached to their building; the deck is on Fairhope Single Tax Colony owned land. Tamara Wintzell, a previous tenant of the building located at 14 N Church owned by Clover LLC, allegedly built the deck without permits on Colony property an undetermined number of years ago. 

Leased Deck

Mayor Sullivan stated the current tenants are in violation of the lease and she has requested an updated version from City attorney Marcus McDowell. The Fairhope Single Tax Colony owns the land and leases it to the Parking Authority which then subleases the property to Clover LLC and The Little Whiskey. The City is not a party on the lease. 

Mayor Sullivan Addresses The Parking Authority

The Little Whiskey bar located in the building and the sublessee on the lease, has gone out of business and is being replaced by My Place, also a bar. The Little Whiskey and My Place have the same owners. The Little Whiskey was involved in a lawsuit from another bar owner in town, Ronan McSharry, after he claimed the Little Whiskey over-served him alcohol which led to him physically assaulting a woman while seated at the bar. The woman's lawsuit against McSharry for her broken bones and other injuries was dropped due to an error by City attorney Marcus McDowell. It is unclear why the issue was not resolved in a timely manner which resulted in the case dismissal.

People's Co-Operative Store

Mayor Sullivan also noted at the meeting the current owners of the adjacent property, most recently a former hardware store, are in the planning stages of their development. Sildi LLC, owners of 301 Fairhope Ave, a building historically known as the People's Co-Operative Store, intend to replace the building with a med-spa on the ground level and a 20 room hotel on the second and third floors with a rooftop terrace. The Mayor noted the owners are currently looking for suitable land off site to accommodate the required parking and remarked she advised them to begin the demolition process now as to avoid any future ordinances the City may adopt from the Historic Preservation Committee that may impede the removal of historic buildings.

Pine Ave Parking Plan

The Parking Authority also reviewed plans for updated parking along Pine Avenue and plan to use it as a guide for the development of future parking projects around the City. The Parking Authority noted they were looking for a member to fill an empty chair and are gladly accepting resumes and nominations from the public.