City purchases former Club Majestic 4 years after fatal New Year’s shooting

The city of Columbus has finalized its purchase of a five-parcel site that includes the former Club Majestic where a Columbus State University student was killed four years ago.

City Manager Isaiah Hugley made the announcement at a recent Winterfield community improvement meeting held at the Boys & Girls Club on Cusseta Road.

“My staff informed me this morning that we are the owners of that entire block,” he said Thursday.

The city spent about $365,800 for the property located at 2,100, 2102, 2200 and 2210 Cusseta Road and 2111 North Andrews Circle. The funds were approved in August, and come out of the city’s $1.2 million enterprise funds for the property.

The parcels have a combined assessed value of about $211,700, but Hugley said the city never pays more than fair market value.

“And what’s showing on the digest is always lower than fair market value,” he said.

The property includes the old Club Majestic building, an abandoned car wash, parking lot and restaurant building and another parking lot. Mayor Teresa Tomlinson and Columbus Council shut down Club Majestic in 2013 after the fatal shooting of Charles Foster. At the time, they described the property as public nuisance due to constant reports of violence and criminal activity.

Foster, 24, was the first homicide of 2013 after he was shot in the chest on New Year’s Day at Club Majestic. He was scheduled to graduate from CSU that spring, and officials presented his degree posthumously at his funeral.

In 2014, Dequandrea Artavas Truitt and Shaquille Porter were convicted on two counts each of murder, seven counts of aggravated assault and two counts of possessing of a firearm during a felony. They were both sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole plus 25 years.

On Monday, Hugley said the city will demolish the dilapidated property in the near future and make it available for development. He said the city plans to sell the property for fair market value.

He said the property has been used for commercial purposes in the past, but that could change, depending on the development project. He said it backs up to a residential neighborhood, but it would have to be rezoned for any residential purpose. City planners would assess whatever plan is presented to make sure it’s a good fit for the neighborhood, he said.

“It’s a major move forward for that area,” he said. “We have a whole lot of residents concerned about blight and crime in that area. Our goal is to redevelop the property and make it a place that current residents, and even others living outside the area, can be proud.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2017 at 4:26 PM with the headline "City purchases former Club Majestic 4 years after fatal New Year’s shooting."