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During its Tuesday meeting, the Troup County Board of Commissioners approved and signed a memorandum of understanding with EYC Companies, LLC, a South Carolina-based company that will develop a 144-unit apartment complex in downtown LaGrange, to finalize several aspects to the future project.

The MOU verified three agreements on the county’s end:

• The county accepted a portion of the dirt from the construction, an estimated 11,000 cubic yards, that will be used for the county’s landfills and other county projects when needed.
• The county accepted $75,000 from the Callaway Foundation to construct two pickleball courts and a dog park adjacent to the future complex.
• The county accepted the tax absorption schedule previously approved by the Troup County Board of Accessors.

The project is a collaborative effort between the county, the city, the Callaway Foundation and the Downtown Development Association.

The entities are working together to facilitate the financial and appearance aspect of the project, and it’s impact on downtown LaGrange.

Tripp Penn, president of the Callaway Foundation, said plans for the complex have been part of the organization’s master plan for over 20 years. Planning the project with EYC began as recently as two years ago.

“We’ve had a master plan for downtown [since] the early 2000s … but all along, plans were in place, and we really wanted to see it happen,” he said.

“The Callaway Foundation has tried to make deals like this happen in the past, and it’s just never come together.”

The Callaway Foundation is investing $2 million for the construction of the complex’s parking garage and will transfer the title of the property to the DDA, who in turn, will sell the property to the developer, who will lease the 4,000-foot rental spaces and 280 parking spaces.

Troup County has also agreed to a tax absorption schedule, which is based on a 10-year actual performance and annual return, while the city is pitching in $1 million to the DDA for the parking garage.

The site of the project will be on the former Loy’s Furniture Supply and Stephens Exclusives on the 200 block of Main Street. Skip Smith, president of the DLDA, confirmed that the two buildings would be demolished during the complex’s construction.