The Clayton County Commission on Tuesday formally cut ties with a developer that proposed building a $4 million business incubator building for the south metro Atlanta community.
The board voted unanimously to terminate its contract with Roman United Construction, a newly formed development company that had planned to include the incubator as part of an ambitious $800 million mixed-use project set for a struggling shopping center in Lake City.
County leaders in recent months have soured on Roman after the developer failed to meet several deadlines demonstrating progress on the incubator, despite receiving $559,000 from Clayton in advance payments for architectural and design work.
In January, county attorney Charles Reed sent Roman United a letter stating that Clayton would no longer pursue the incubator at the proposed development. Commissioners reiterated that point to Roman and its founder, Jacques Roman, last month during a fiery meeting where the board demanded the company immediately repay Clayton the advance money.
Roman unveiled the massive development last summer to praise and support from county officials. In addition to the incubator, the project -- which was being developed through an agreement with Invest Clayton, the county’s economic development arm -- included plans for two 27-story condo buildings, a 25-story luxury hotel, a 25-story office tower and a 7,500-seat amphitheater.
But the missed deadlines and a raft of questions about overall financing and due diligence on the project’s viability led commissioners to begin examining their investment in the development.
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