Blueprint Board backs $1.8 million in taxpayer funding for SoMo Walls, distillery
TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat
Updated 10 min read
SoMo Walls is located on South Monroe Street between Oakland Avenue and Harrison Street, directly across Proof Brewing Company.
After a long and sometimes testy debate, Blueprint Board members ultimately decided to approve nearly $1.8 million for the SoMo Walls redevelopment project.
In a 6-5 split, board members voted to give the full $1.8 million and allow developer and political fundraiser, Bugra Demirel, the opportunity to repay $1 million back to Blueprint. The recoverable grant funding option was a first for the agency, and its attorney noted that Blueprint doesn't issue loans.
County Commissioner Rick Minor took a stab at a compromise and made a motion to give the full amount under the condition that it had to be repaid to "Blueprint over a reasonable period of time as negotiated by Blueprint staff" and that the recoverable grant be backed by a performance bond to fully protect taxpayer dollars. But, he failed to get enough support.
Mayor John Dailey, City Commissioners Dianne Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson and County Commissioners Nick Maddox, Carolyn Cummings and Bill Proctor voted in favor of the funding request.
City Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter and County Commissioners Minor, David O'Keefe and Brian Welch were in dissent. While County Commissioner Christian Caban extolled the virtues of the project, he recused himself from the vote due to business relationships he has with the developer's wife.
Developer Bugra Demirel gives a behind the scenes tour of the construction of SoMo Walls on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023.
While Welch said some level of subsidy is appropriate and encouraged in order to stimulate the south-side economy in an under-invested area, he couldn't contend with the "enormous amount of money."
"I cannot justify it, because I don't think it's fiscally responsible," he said.
Williams-Cox, who made the affirming motion, said the south side needs "good places to eat" and "we need good places to enjoy and have entertainment."
"I think that this is an opportunity to spur that growth," she said.
Plans call for retail and commercial space that includes 10-foot walls for artwork and large sidewalks to create a walkable space, an open-kitchen restaurant called "The Monroe" and a 96-foot linear bar with four bartenders. The Walls Distilling Company will be the main attraction and connected to restaurant.
The project is already slated to receive public dollars – $776,000 in Community Redevelopment Agency funds once complete; $560,000 in grants and $216,000 as a reimbursement.
Blueprint materials say the leveraging fund has a current balance of $1.13 million but that the proposed 2024 budget would add another $1.35 million. Funding the SoMo Walls request will leave about $723,000 in the account.
The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, which reviewed the non-competitive funding request by Demirel’s company, Cascades Garden, LLC, gave it a score of 93 out of 95 points and said it was eligible for the full amount under policy. The Blueprint agenda item says it could lead to a $17.8 million economic impact on the community.
The Blueprint Board heard from several speakers and all but one spoke out against approving the funding request for SoMo Walls.
"The south side does not need another brewery, another pizza shop. Nor does it need exhibit space for art," said Dot Inman-Johnson, a former city commissioner who's filed to run against Richardson.
Another speaker, who questioned the financials of the project said, "I wouldn't trust this guy to open a popsicle stand, let alone a major, major investment of our money."
Bugra Demirel, owner and principal at Demirel International, speaks before the Blueprint International Intergovernmental Agency meeting on Sept. 21, 2023.
Demirel defended his experience in the hospitality industry and interest in making an investment in an area he said "proudly hosted the single largest commercial development" in the South Monroe Street area. In addition, he said the redevelopment project is 85% leased out by tenants.
Last year, Demirel was appointed to the Frenchtown-Southside CRA’s Citizen Advisory Committee by Mayor Dailey. He also chairs a political committee for the developer-backed Grow Tallahassee, which was a major force in the 2022 elections and spent thousands in last year’s election on mailers and ads supporting candidates including David Bellamy, who tried unsuccessfully to unseat Matlow.
The PAC also supported Dailey, Williams-Cox, Maddox, Proctor and Caban in the 2022 election, and it paid to boost social media posts with negative takes on Matlow and City Commissioner Jack Porter.
In a previous interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, Demirel said he wasn't "politically connected."
"I don't lobby the government. I don't work for them," he said in a text. "I'm not in the local government circles. My political action ends with the election cycle."
Here's what each Blueprint member said before the vote.
County Commissioner Christian Caban
County Commissioner Christian Caban debates the concepts of the Northeast Park during a Blueprint meeting on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
County Commissioner Christian Caban abstained from voting on the issue. However, he still offered comments before the vote took place.
"I think it's important when we review these projects, that we make decisions based on facts and, from what I've seen and what I've heard, there's a lot of misinformation circulating," he said.
Caban said several public speakers mentioned a need for other types of economic development, such as grocery stores, on the south side.
"Well guess what? We had some and they just recently went out of business, as well as a CVS," he said. "So when we look at someone, who's taking their own dollars and their own money and wants to invest in our community, a lot of money to create jobs for more economic development in a part of town that quite frankly doesn't have a lot of it, I think it's important that we make decisions based on the facts."
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey
Mayor John Dailey speaks at the City Commission meeting held at the Smith-Williams Service Center Wednesday, June 19, 2019. (Credit: Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat)
Dailey started off by saying the commentary and actions leading up to the Blueprint meeting were "disheartening at best."
First he addressed allegations made by Matlow that the mayor and Richardson may have violated the Sunshine Law by having a private conversation related to Demirel and the SoMo Walls project.
"There are no Sunshine violations. None. None," Dailey said.
He said he was talking with Richardson's aide and Richardson and had a casual conversation asking about his family.
"My aide was in the hall as well. But that wasn't seen by Commissioner Matlow because he was not with us physically. He was around the corner. I'm gonna leave it at that," he said.
He also warned staff to be careful after private information was posted about the project online briefly in the agenda packet.
He made no other public comments about the project.
City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox
Mayor pro tem Dianne Williams-Cox attends a commission meeting where members take the oath of office on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022 in Tallahassee, Fla.
Williams-Cox said the South Monroe Street Corridor is a gateway to the south side.
The SoMo Walls project, she said, is an example of "smart development" that she's been advocating to see more of for the past three decades.
"We're always talking about what the south side needs and what the south side doesn't need. But, many of you who are speaking don't live on the south side and never have," she said.
"It is my hope that we will encourage people to advance on all sides of town. But I think that this gentleman has shown that he is willing to take the risk. He has put his money where his mouth is and, because of rising costs and some delays that could not have been determined -- like we have learned on these other projects that we are working on -- he finds himself needing some gap funding to close this out."
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow listens to public comment during the Blueprint meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
Demirel offered to answer questions about the project before the Blueprint Board discussed the item. Matlow seized the opportunity and put a spotlight on what was known and not known about the financial side of the business.
They were largely cordial to each other, considering the digs and a host of allegations made by both men toward the other in recent days. In the end, Matlow made it clear he couldn't support the request.
"I supported this project twice. When we're talking about funding a physical development to get a shell done and get tenants moved in, I was there to support it," Matlow said. "I can't support a $1.8 million for a distillery."
City Commissioner Jack Porter
City Commissioner Jack Porter listens to public comment during the Blueprint meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
Porter offered no discussion on the topic before voting against the project.
City Commissioner Curtis Richardson
City Commissioner Curtis Richardson listens to public comment during the Blueprint meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
As a longtime south-side resident, he said there are parts of town that lack basic infrastructure and amenities.
He said it's "hypocritical" to question the funding amount for this project when other large funding requests have been approved by the board in the past.
"We don't have a restaurant that I feel good about taking my wife to on the south side of town. We don't have a fitness center in that area ... But, we want to question (this) and I really believe it's all due to political antics."
He went on to say Demirel is taking a risk with his investment when others chose not to invest, adding he was "willing to create jobs and economic development and creating opportunities for minority owned businesses."
County Commissioner Nick Maddox
Leon County Commission Chair Nick Maddox attends a commission meeting where members take the oath of office on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 in Tallahassee, Fla.
Maddox said he was most impressed by the project's $17.8 million total economic impact and the 47 permanent jobs it was slated to create.
He also pointed to the developer's attempt to go above and beyond what's required for using Minority, Women & Small Business Enterprise (MWSBE) subcontractors, which was 34% and represented $1.6 million in economic impact for those companies.
"I think I'm going to judge this project based off of that," Maddox said. "So, I'm going to support it."
County Commissioner Carolyn Cummings
County Commissioner Carolyn Cummings listens to public comment during the Blueprint meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
Cummings did not comment on the project before voting for it.
County Commissioner Rick Minor
Leon County Commissioner Rick Minor attends a commission meeting where members take the oath of office on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 in Tallahassee, Fla.
Minor said there are good reasons to support the project and he was glad to see private sector investment on the property. However, in this case, he said it seems like the board is "picking winners and losers."
"Ideally, I don't think blueprint should be in the loan business, but I don't want this project to fail. We don't want another Washington Square, where a stalled project has exposed concrete and rebar and might sit untouched for years."
County Commissioner David O'Keefe
County Commissioner David O'Keefe listens as another commissioner voices their opinion of the Northeast Park during a Blueprint meeting on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
One of County Commissioner O'Keefe's main issues with the funding request was the inability to see a full picture of the applicant's financial records, despite attempts to obtain them.
He said staffers received documents marked "confidential," adding he took issue with not receiving documents even if they were redacted for sensitive information such as social security numbers and bank account numbers.
"It doesn't makes sense, and people make mistakes. That's why there's review and oversight," he said. "So, I can't even look at that, as I requested earlier this week, and that troubles me for this amount of money. This may be a good project. But if we're going to approve this much money ... this is the only project I've seen where the initiation was based on the loss or lack of bank funding."
County Commissioner Bill Proctor
County Commissioner Bill Proctor voices his opinion of the Northeast Park during a Blueprint meeting on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
Proctor said he could appreciate the risk the developer was taking in an area that's been "red lined" and lacked strong economic growth.
He said this project will work well, adding the banks "don't play fair south of Gaines Street." He said the robust revitalization that's taken shape on Gaines Street was spurred by significant private investment.
Proctor also said the board has a history of easy giving to other projects with far less scrutiny.
County Commissioner Brian Welch
County Commissioner Brian Welch listens to public comment during the Blueprint meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
He said the funding request is an "enormous amount of money" and it's not the government's job to pick winners and losers.
But he appreciated the challenges the project is facing with construction costs and other factors. Like Minor, Welch also favored a middle ground.
"I look at this and I see opportunity costs," he said. "That's 18 $100,000 grants that we can give to small businesses in the community or 36 $50,000 grants that we can give to small businesses in the community."
Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com. Follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
