6 years, 7 months ago by Jim Dewey
Will hand over former St. Elizabeth's building to developers
The city of Hannibal has agreed to take ownership of the former St. Elizabeth's Hospital.
During Tuesday Night's council meeting - a resolution was passed that will authorize Hannibal Mayor James Hark to accept and execute a special warranty deed from the current owners of the property at 109 Virginia Street at no cost to the city. City Manager Jeff LaGarce says the transfer will allow the city to apply for a grant to help remove asbestos from the building before developers acquire the property.
The city will apply for an Environmental Improvement Energy Resources Authority (EIERA) grant. The 200 thousand dollar grant will pay for removal of some of the asbestos in the building. The Grant can only be used on publicly owned property. Then the developers - Hilltide Partners and Belmont Development Company - will assume ownership of the building.
Developers want to apply for a federal grant through the Missouri Housing Development Commission, but MHDC has set a construction limit of 9 point 5 million dollars on the project and the developers are about 300 thousand over that. With the EIERA grant - the city will eliminate most of that overage.
LaGarce says the project should save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run. "Absent the emergence of a willing and knowledgeable investor who can re-purpose and do something with this," LaGarce said, the city and its taxpayers are eventually looking at an $800 thousand plus demolition." He said there is almost no way to avert that as the building has already been condemned. LaGarce said it would have already been taken down if the city had the means to do that, but it does not. "It would literally wipe out a lot of the city's reserves," He said.
Council also gave second and final reading to an ordinance changing the zoning of that property to Multiple Family which will allow for renovation of the building into senior housing.
