The city was approached by the owners of the
Knoxies/Edgewater Inn building which is located on the south side of town along
Co. Rd. 4. This building has stood
vacant for a good number of years and attempts to sell it have not materialized
with a buyer. The building may be sound
but a commercial use of it requires a great deal of health and building code
compliance issues which further frustrates its purchase and use.
The offer the owners made to the city was to donate the
property and building to the city with no strings attached. They would like to see the building put to a
public purpose but the city would be faced with the same building code
issues. Remodeling a building can be as
costly as building a new facility. At
this time the city isn’t in a position to expand public facilities or use the
building.
The city council reviewed the property owner’s offer of this
donation. They did not feel a reuse of
the building was feasible but did feel they could accept the donation. With this donation they also agreed to remove
the building and clear the site. They
hope to complete this transaction and have the building removed by the end of
the year. The removal of the building
carries some costs which the city is willing to assume as the building has sat
vacant and continues to decline with the passage of each year.
The city greatly appreciates the intended donation from Vine
Hill Investors and more particularly Jeff and Nancy Schoenwetter.
