During winter break, there was a post-and-delete announcement made by the owners of Railroad Square regarding a four-story apartment complex with a parking garage that would be built in the art district.
According to WTLX Tallahassee, this project would’ve demolished several buildings and affected many businesses, which caused an uproar from small business owners. This uproar centered on their love for the arts that Railroad Square was built on, and they didn’t want it to go to housing.
A small business that wanted to keep its comment anonymous said, “I brought my business here simply for the arts and creativity within this selected community. I get that we need housing, but at what cost?”
Railroad Square’s leadership wanted to clear the air regarding this rumor. “We issued a statement that a development project was being considered on the northwest and west side of Railroad Square. However, this development project is no longer being considered.”
The only project completed in Railroad Square was the Hyatt House Hotel, which was built in 2020. The Hyatt Hotel is the only hotel in Tallahassee that features local artists and directly increases patronage for art district businesses.
Unfortunately, due to the many controversies surrounding Railroad Square, the public lost faith in their goals. In August 2022, the owner of Kosta’s Subs filed a defamation lawsuit against Adam Boynton Kaye, the owner of Railroad Square, claiming he lied about the business being behind on rent.
A few months later, in October, Square Mug was one of the small businesses having issues with the Railroad Square management. In October 2022, it announced it was closing due to being late on bills and almost evicted — which was later reversed after donations from the community.
After the Hyatt Hotel was built in 2020, the owners subsidized the rent by a 10% discount. “I remember during their first project, I couldn’t afford my rent at the time. So they offered me a new space with a discount and even then, I still couldn’t afford it,” said the small business owner.
That’s when, a year later, there was a surprise announcement for their new project — the apartment complex — which led to the idea that Railroad Square was on a mission to erase the arts without informing their tenants.
Railroad Square leaders said they would like the public to understand its ownership and management directly. “We actively communicate with our community of small business owners at Railroad Square and assure them that they will have a great deal of advance notice before any major change occurs,” Kaye said.
According to their leadership, whenever a project is being considered, they consult the city planner, at which point the plan becomes public information even though there isn’t even a contract in place.
The leak of information led to some small businesses feeling as though they were blindsided. “Business owners who have been in Railroad Square for years can tell you that the same conversations have been occurring for a very long time; meanwhile, entrepreneurs have continued to run some of the most unique creative micro-businesses in the city. In the future, should any development plans be put into place, we will certainly inform the public after informing our tenants,” said Railroad Square leadership.