Lilburn DDA Plans to Buy Blue Rooster Property

Lilburn's Downtown Development Authority plans to buy the Blue Rooster property on Main Street in order to get tenants in the building as quickly as possible, according to Doug Stacks, planning and economic development director for the city.

The Blue Rooster Cafe closed shortly after Christmas, and it's now bank-owned. A lot of people have expressed interest in renting the space, but the bank can't lease it out, Stacks said.

"It's been sitting there vacant for a good time, bank-owned," Stacks said. "The immediate plan is to get someone in there." The DDA could "at least get a good tenant in there" until a buyer can be found.

City council on Monday will consider a recommendation to loan $40,000 to the DDA to be used toward the purchase, according to the city council meeting agenda.

"That building and the Blue Rooster have been crucial for downtown, and it sitting vacant is not what we want to see there," Stacks said.

The bank that owns the building has reduced the asking price considerably from the original $250,000, Stacks said, adding he's not sure what the DDA will pay for it. Typically, the director said, the city loans 25 percent of the purchase price to the DDA for such transactions.

City Manager Bill Johnsa wasn't immediately available to comment.