City-owned property goes up for sale
CONNELLSVILLE – It appears a city-owned property will be offered for sale to any eligible buyer offering the highest bid for the site. The city redevelopment authority agreed Wednesday to market the 203 W. Washington Ave. property after it makes repairs to a water supply line that is known to be defective.
The home was acquired by the city last year through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Good Neighbor Policy Dollar Homes. The program allows municipalities to purchase vacated homes for $1 and then utilize them to benefit the city.
According to a plan proposed by board member Dexton Reed, and approved by the panel, an open house will be held to showcase the 1925 two-story brick, 8-room home to interested parties.
Eligible bidders, according to the plan, would be restricted to those who have not owned a home in the city for three or more years. The minimum bid price is $62,000 with the residence being sold in an ‘as is’ condition.
As an incentive, a $10,000 zero interest loan provided by the authority will be included to assist with any repairs. The loan would be defrayed by $1,000 per year provided the original owner continues to reside in the home. Should the property be sold, the amount would have to be paid to the city.
Bids will be received by the redevelopment authority and reviewed and awarded by the authority board.
The board agreed to have the defective water line repaired immediately to facilitate the scheduling of an open house and bidding process.
“Whoever bids the highest, gets it,” said Reed. “We’ll get the profits and move on.”
Any proceeds garnered through the sale have been earmarked by the city to be used for further community redevelopment and demolition of uninhabitable structures.
In other action, the board awarded a contract to Ritenour and Sons Construction of Connellsville to demolish three dilapidated homes.
The homes slated to be razed include 406 E. Murphy Ave., 227 S. Prospect St., and 222 North 7th St. A fourth property located at 243 E. Fairview Ave. has also been deemed inhabitable by the city health department, however, funds are not available to complete the demolition.
For the four properties, Ritenour’s bid was listed at $27,200, nearly $8,000 more than has been set aside for the project.
Ralph Wombacker, authority executive director, said that the health department has determined that the trio of properties is the most in need of demolition.