EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – With a unanimous vote, members of the Community Improvement Corporation Board of Trustees on Thursday turned down an offer to purchase a portion of the former Riverview Florist property for redevelopment.
This was after the purchase price offered was increased by $30,000 and earnest money raised by $5,000.
The board acted on the issue after property committee meetings in May when the offer was first broached, and again Thursday after considerable discussion.
During the May committee session, the offer proposed by Pen Tex Ventures Real Estate of Pittsburgh was to purchase 1.8 acres of the 80.94-acre parcel at 1860 Park Way.
The $110,000 offer was for an L-shaped piece of land at the front of the property bordered by Park Way and Anderson Boulevard but didn’t include a brick Tudor-style building fronting Park Way, which once served as a showroom and offices for the florist business.
The offer, which included $5,000 in earnest money, came from a broker buying sites for Dollar General locations, said Bill Cowan, CIC executive director.
Patrick Scafide, CIC president, said the plan called for a full Dollar General grocery store.
At the end of the committee meeting in May, Cowan said he would contact the broker to suggest a $250,000 sale price. However, the new offer considered by the committee Thursday was for $140,000, with $10,000 in earnest money.
Committee members said during the May meeting the property is worth more than what was offered.
The property was originally annexed from Liverpool Township and purchased from the Bosco family by the city during former Mayor Jim Swoger’s administration for about $1.3 million, with the intention of redeveloping it.
In 2013, the city transferred ownership of the property to the nonprofit CIC to further attempt redevelopment efforts.
Board member Lisa Blasdel said Thursday the counter-proposal mentioned that the proposed purchaser’s planning and development committee had voiced concerns about the location. “What if it sits there empty?” she said.
Scafide said he didn’t think four property committee members should make the decision, and the committee voted to forward the issue to the full board, which met after the committee.
Board member Darlene Kinsey asked if anyone has contacted high-end contractors about using the property as an upscale housing development.
Cowan said he was contacted by developers, but they were excluded due to the current Planned Unit Development zoning, which prohibits residential use on the property.
City Council will hold a public hearing Aug. 4 on the PUD, with plans to add residential use to the zoning.
Mayor Bobby Smith, who is also a CIC member, asked if the zoning can specify no low-income housing. “There’s not a citizen in East Liverpool who wants another low-income anything. It’s time to think we’re not so poor. We have enough low-income stuff,” he said.
City Law Director Charles Payne said he will investigate whether or not the zoning can exclude low-income housing.
Scafide took exception to those who complained on social media about the proposed Dollar General project. “If you want to do something [to make improvements in the city], get out your checkbook. Or we have three seats [vacant] on the board.”
Ultimately, the board voted unanimously to reject the purchase offer.
A letter from Tamar Cooper, Thompson Park Board president, was read during the meeting. It stated that the board would like to acquire the decorative iron gates at the property to install at the park entrance.
CIC board member Craig Stowers said this would ensure the gates stay in the city, but Blasdel said it seems premature to give the gates away since the CIC may find a use for them at one of its properties.
Board member Connie Javens voiced concerns that removing the gates might pave the way for trespassers into the Riverview property, but she was assured they don’t actually prevent people from getting in.
When the vote was taken, it was 6-5 in favor of donating the gates to the park.
The board also voted in favor of authorizing Scafide to sign a proposal with Tetra Tech of Canfield for a Phase 1 property assessment and pre-demolition asbestos survey of the Riverview Florist property, not to exceed $12,000.
Although there was some discussion on whether the study is premature since the future of the property and buildings is not yet known, Kinsey pointed out: “The longer we sit on the property, the studies are going to rise in price. The more we know, the better.”
Tetra Tech did the same type of work for the former East Junior High School, owned by the CIC, and board members said they hope brownfield funding will be available for any major demolition.
Pictured at top: The iron gates at the former Riverview Florist property.