The redevelopment of Phenix City's riverfront has apparently gained new momentum, with the city's purchase of The Triangle back on track.

The Phenix City Council on Tuesday rescinded an agreement made last October to buy The Triangle for $965,600 and replaced it with a new agreement for $2,965,000 for the property, which consists of six buildings in the 700 and 800 blocks of Riverview Courts Apartments.

The property, which the city will deed to Troy University for the construction of a building to house its business program, is the key to unlocking the development of Phenix City's riverfront.

Two major residential/retail projects announced for the riverfront -- The Phenixian, a $35 million development by Ronnie Gilley Properties LLC of Enterprise, Ala., and the $43 million Phenix Rising building, developed by Tri-State Investment Group LLC out of the Washington, D.C., area -- are currently on hold pending the completion of The Triangle acquisition.

The council voted 4-0 to accept the new agreement, which was aided greatly by $2 million in private-sector pledges. Mayor Jeff Hardin was out of town and missed Tuesday's meeting with Mayor Pro Tem Ray Bush presiding.

The pledges are still being secured, but the city and local officials are confident the delayed "next step" in the redevelopment process is about to be made.

"It really sounds great," said J.W. Brannen, chairman of Phenix City Downtown Redevelopment Authority. The DRA has been the primary group working on the riverfront development. "I don't know any of the details, but I know a lot of people have put a lot of effort in to making things work out."

Brannen said the developers have been anxiously watching The Triangle developments. "They're ready to go as soon as the deed (to The Triangle) is in Troy's hands," he said.

Curtis Pitts, the vice-chancellor of the Phenix City campus, said Troy is ready to proceed. "I'm very excited the process is going forward," Pitts said. "I guess we're going to have to get working on raising $8 million in private money."

The new agreement, like the earlier one, will still have to pass muster with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's office in Chicago. The office will have to approve an Acquisition and Disposition of Apartments Agreement between the Housing Authority of Phenix City and the city government.

But the one-to-one replacement requirement and the resulting costs were the big hurdle in the final agreement, a hurdle which has apparently been jumped with the private sector pledges.

Judy Hare, the director of the Housing Authority, is out of the office until Friday and was unavailable for comment. In an earlier interview on The Triangle sale and the relocation of residents affected by it, Hare said the authority was working hard on relocation plans.

The relocation could take one of a number of forms including moving residents to other public housing communities in Phenix City; participation in the Section 8 housing voucher plan; or participation in a home ownership program.

"We have to have a good plan ready to go in order to accomplish the move the way we're required to do to make sure the residents are taken care of properly," Hare said last spring. "You don't do it overnight -- we have to make sure the residents are taken care of properly."