Properties eyed for Y

By SCOTT SMITH
Tribune staff writer

May 10, 2008 11:55 pm

— Even without a proposed — and subsequently rejected — plan to use $300,000 in county money toward the purchase of downtown properties, developer Scott Pitcher said plans to acquire land for a future YMCA are moving ahead.
A group of business leaders and city officials are proposing to purchase six properties in a two-block area to the north of City Hall as a site for a new YMCA building.
The asking price for those properties is $1.21 million; with demolition and environmental remediation costs involved, the price could rise to over $2 million to make the site construction ready for a new Y building.
Those figures come from Pitcher, who is representing the sellers of five of the six properties involved, including one building in which he owns a 40 percent stake.
That building, 220 E. Sycamore St., is owned by a partnership — Third Wave — Pitcher set up with Bill Fortune and Mark Bowyer, and is part of a block bounded by Union, Walnut, Market and Sycamore streets.
Every parcel of property in that block is available for the YMCA deal, but Pitcher also wants to sell additional property in the block to the east, including the land currently occupied by the downtown post office, and a parking lot formerly used by Button Motors on the northwest corner of Apperson Way and Market Street.
The asking price for the parking lot is $175,000; the post office property is listed at $235,000.
Pitcher said no appraisals have been done on either parcel, but said every Realtor tries to get the best deal possible for the seller. He said with the county declining to contribute, further negotiations may be necessary.
“The community should focus on trying to attain some positive results for the city, results that will have a positive impact for generations to come,” he said. “The YMCA is a facility that can be used by anyone who chooses to use it.”
Apart from the parking lot and the post office properties, and two homes on the southwest corner of Walnut Street and Apperson Way, the other four parcels in the one-block area are not for sale as part of Pitcher’s proposed land package.
Pitcher was unable to obtain current options on homes owned by Jim & Kathryn Trobaugh (312 E. Sycamore), Michael Dempsey (303 E. Walnut), Helen Herrell (313 E. Walnut), and Rickey & Loren Gifford (315 E. Walnut). He said he has about 90 days remaining on some of the options he holds.
“They would have been part of the package, but they would have been too expensive,” Pitcher said. “And we wanted all willing sellers.”
Pitcher had an option on the Trobaugh home — which was to be included in the proposal — but wasn’t able to renew it. Pitcher declined to discuss why, referring questions to Jim Trobaugh, who couldn’t be reached Friday.
YMCA board president Allan James said Friday it might be possible to locate a new downtown Y on the property Pitcher is trying to sell, but said the board might have to revise its preferred option of constructing a single-story building.
“The YMCA’s not made it clear they need both blocks; with the properties we’ve assembled, we have plenty of land to do the Y deal,” Pitcher said.
On the other block, shared by the former Button Motors and the Third Wave-owned building, property owner Don Button has offered to donate most of the block, and to sell the parcel at 116 N. Union St. for $250,000.
Pitcher said the $360,000 price tag on the Third Wave-owned parcel is fair, showing one appraisal valuing the building at $450,000.
Pitcher has so far, however, declined to share environmental assessments of the properties with the Howard County commissioners, a fact the commissioners said contributed to their decision not to pony up $300,000 in local income tax revenue for the project.
Pitcher said three quotes were prepared on potential remediation costs about three years ago, when the Kokomo-Howard County Library Board was considering building a new downtown library on the same two blocks.
Pitcher said the quotes ranged between $218,000 and $500,000, but did not share copies of the reports.
Library board director Bill Sahm also declined Thursday to share property appraisal and other information the library board has in its possession with the Tribune. Sahm could not be reached for comment Friday.
Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com

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