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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Master planning for Pelham’s Oak Mountain Trail development is well underway. The city of Pelham has been working towards purchasing land owned by Susan Schein to use for property development.

The property was officially purchased back in October 2021 for $2,795,000.

The property is 11.03 acres at the intersection of Shelby County Road 35 and Shelby County Road 52.

When the city went to purchase the property after a significant price drop was announced, they found that Tractor Supply had already entered an agreement with the property owner.

In a twist of fate, Tractor Supply’s deal needed changes to zoning ordinances in order to close. After expressing their desire to purchase the property, the City Council worked with Susan Schein and Tractor Supply to acquire the entire parcel property rights. Tractor Supply will still be part of the development deal and still plans on building on the property.

City Manager Gretchen DiFante wrote in a statement for Pelham’s new quarterly magazine that the Council has put together a plan to bring a hotel and two restaurants to the specified location.

“We have named this project the Oak Mountain Trail development and look forward to creating an area that will be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike,” DiFante wrote.

The project was one of the main capital projects in focus when the Council reviewed their 2022 Fiscal Year budget back in September. It’s named after the road the runs from Hwy Rds 52 and 35.

“We are recommending that you put this first 50 percent of funds towards mostly capital projects, and there are some operational needs mainly within public safety that are mostly technology related or uniform related,” DiFante said at the meeting. “The reason we’re recommending this is because that frees up funds to allow us to invest in an economic development project, and that is the Oak Mountain Trail Project. It allows you to pay for that out of cash, and not have to dip into reserves in order to pay for it.”

More details on the project will be released at a later date.