The 12.6 acres of land that has requested to be annexed into the city limits of Opelika and rezoned is on the east side of Sellers Drive and north of West Point Parkway.
The City of Opelika is working to add property into the city limits, which would extend the boundary lines and corporate limits of Opelika and establish a new area for retail and entertainment.
The undeveloped property consisting of 12.6 acres is located on the east side of Sellers Drive in Opelika just north of West Point Parkway. It extends from Exit 64 of I-85 to Exit 66.
The existing land is vacant and within the unincorporated area of Lee County. The proposal brought before the Opelika City Council on Tuesday is to draw the property into the city and change the zoning from a residential district to a retail/entertainment district.
Matt Mosley, Opelika Planning Director, said this area of land was originally shown as part of the Celebrate Alabama plan that was proposed in 2007, but it was not included in the original annexation.
Because the property wasn’t annexed into the city properly, Mosley said it wasn’t technically part of the city.
Mosley said he’s not sure what type of development the property owner plans for the area, and the owner, Opelika Investment Properties, LLC, could continue the same plan for Celebrate Alabama or could develop a different plan.
“Celebrate Alabama envisioned a large retail and entertainment district that included shopping, hotels, a civic convention center space and a lot of retail space,” Mosley said. “Of course, the market has changed quite a bit since then, so I think the developer is evaluating what they want to do.”
