Phenix City Council to give $2 million to Troy University to build riverfront campus

  Phenix City, Al.
 Phenix City will give $2 million to Troy University to be used toward the establishment of a campus on the city’s riverfront. Phenix City Council approved the decision during Tuesday’s meeting. The money will be paid over the next five years in payments of no less than $200,000 per year.
The money will come from a portion of the funds collected from the business license fees on residential rental property owners. An ordinance to charge owners of rental property a 1.5 percent business license fee was passed by council in August and went into effect in October. The fee will be collected quarterly and be based on gross receipts. Jimmy Wetzel, council member-at-large, said the fee is expected to bring in about $425,000 a year.
A news conference will be held at the riverfront site on 3rd Avenue between 15th and 16th streets Thursday to give information about a possible groundbreaking. “We’ll have details about the project then,” said Tom Davis, Troy University spokesman. Scheduled speakers include Troy Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr., and Phenix City Mayor Sonny Coulter.
Wetzel said Troy has raised the $9 million needed to do the project.“We’re very excited,” Wetzel said. The school’s plan is to build an academic center that will be used primarily for business courses. When the project was first announced, the building was planned at 30,000 square feet. Nearly four acres of land valued then at more than $2.9 million was donated in September 2008 by the city to Troy. Demolishment of a portion of Riverview public housing to clear the land occurred in November 2008. 
In the resolution Tuesday, the council stated that the campus would “promote the public purpose of economic development, security, morals health and general welfare” for the citizens of Phenix City. Of the funding, Coulter said it is “doable” since the payment will be spread out.“This is something that is good for the community,” Coulter said. Wetzel said the building of the campus will be the “lightning rod” for Phenix City riverfront development. “We’re committed to Troy,” he said. Troy University currently has a Phenix City campus located at Chattahoochee Valley Community College