Potential buyer looking at former Grant School property in Steubenville
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STEUBENVILLE -- City Manager Jim Mavromatis told council Tuesday a potential buyer has surfaced who's willing to invest more than a million dollars in the old Grant School property.
At council's weekly meeting, Mavromatis said the buyer is aware the 0.94-acre site would first need to be remediated -- that's at least a $350,000 investment -- before the dirt is turned for construction of the building, currently expected to cost in the neighborhood of $1.1 million.
That would be a about a $1.5 million total investment, Mavromatis said.
"I'm hoping we can move on with this, that's a big investment, $350,000 for remediation of that property and $1.1 million (for construction," he said after the meeting. "So you're looking at $1.5 million they're willing to invest in this city."
But Mavromatis refused to identify the buyer or even say what kind of business it would be, saying only that "the company is very interested in building a store here."
If the project materializes, it's expected to create around 10 full-time jobs.
"It's centrally located, this is what downtown need," he said afterward. "Downtown is starting to be developed, and this would be a great addition to our city."
City officials have had nibbles about the property, located at the corner of South Fourth and South streets, before, but would-be buyer backed out over concerns about how much money would have to be spent before construction even started.
Previously, Urban Projects Director Chris Petrossi said core borings revealed there are "subsurface geologic conditions that need mitigated before a building can be built in the site." At the time he said the cost for remediation could range from $350,000 to $500,000.
In 2019 council rezoned the property to B-1, Central Business District, paving the way for the unidentified retail developer to come forward with plans for the property, which had previously been zoned public/semi-public even though it hadn't been used as a school building since the 1980s. The old school building was sold to a private owner in 1996, the building demolished in 2004 and the property sold to the city in 2009.
Since then, it's been used primarily for parking for the annual Holy Trinity Greek Festival and is home to the Downtown Steubenville Farmers Market.
"If you look and see where we've been the last seven years and how much has happened here, downtown, that says a lot," Mavromatis said. "That's something we need to go back to."
He told council he'd like any agreement they negotiate to include a timeline to build, so if the project were to languish for an extended period "it comes back to the city."
"I don't want it tied up for ... years," he said.
Council also heard from:
— Law Director Costa Mastros, who requested they table the third reading of an ordinance authorizing of Utility Service Partners Private Label Inc. (doing business as Service Line Warranties of America) to market its warranty plans for water and sewer lines as well as in-home plumbing.
Mastros said the company's representative needed to reschedule the face-to-face meeting they'd requested before the final reading due to a scheduling conflict. He said they'd planned a conference call to iron out the details, but said he would try to arrange for an in-person discussion with the full council prior to the final reading next Tuesday "just go get everything ironed out."
— Fifth Ward Councilman Willie Paul, who sunshined legislation adopting the tax budget for Fiscal Year 2024 and calling for a public hearing.
— Patrick McLaughlin, organizer of the "Tennis Shoe Ernie" Nichols Co-ed Softball Tournament, who thanked council, Mavromatis and Parks and Recreation Supervisor Lori Fetherolf for their assistance.
He said Fetherolf went "above and beyond" in making sure fields were ready for the tourney, and awarded one of the two game balls used because "without her it would never have happened."
— Sixth Ward Councilman Mike Hernon, who introduced legislation that would authorize city officials move forward with an Asphalt Art Initiative grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
— Mavromatis, who said he's meeting with the architect to fine-tune the estimates for the renovations to the old city building, "broken down by first floor and second floor."