Seven Hardy-owned Uniontown properties sell at auction
SOUTH UNION TWP. — Seven downtown Uniontown properties owned by Joe Hardy’s real estate company, Commercial Center Associates, were sold for more than $400,000 combined at a multi-property auction at the Hilton Garden Inn Thursday morning, signaling what several business owners and leaders hope will be a new phase of development for the downtown business district.
“I think the money was fair on both ends,” Uniontown Mayor Bernie Kasievich said. “The talk around the room was it sounded like (the buyers) want to do something with (the properties), not just sit on them.”
Two properties that were previously advertised by Florida-based Higgenbotham Auctioneers International as part of the multi-property auction were announced as having been pulled just before the auction began: 30 E. Main St., a former 20,586-square-foot restaurant and bar that formerly operated under the name 30 East Main before closing in 2013, and 27 W. Main St., the former site of Woodlands World, a sporting goods store which closed in September.
Commercial Center Associates Chief Operating Officer Bethany Cypher said that 30 E. Main St. and 27 W. Main St. were pulled from the auction “a week or two ago” after the organization reevaluated what to do with the properties. Cypher added that some equipment was removed from both properties after a preview of properties for sale for prospective buyers last month, including kitchen equipment from 30 E. Main St., prompting Commercial Center Associates to conclude that it wasn’t fair to sell those properties since they were no longer as previously configured.
“I hollered, screamed, yelled,” said Marty Higgenbotham, founder of Higgenbotham Auctioneers International and Thursday’s auctioneer, about the subtraction of 30 E. Main St. and 27 W. Main St from properties up for auction. “Not the way it should have been done, but they’re not mine to sell.”
Nevertheless, Cypher and Higgenbotham both said they were pleased with how the auction ultimately went, as seven of the eight remaining properties sold.
“I thought it went real well,” said Laura Whitt-Slocumb, Higgenbotham Auctioneers International’s business development and auction sale manager. “It was a nice crowd, nice participation.”
Three properties (35 Morgantown St., 7 Morgantown St. and 40 W. South St.) sold absolute, meaning those properties were sold to the last and highest bidder regardless of price. Commercial Center Associates will have the right to accept or reject the highest bids for each of the other five sold properties which sold “reserve,” meaning there is a hidden minimum price the seller is willing to accept for the item.
Cypher declined to reveal the reserve prices for the properties and added that Commercial Center Associates will have to accept or reject Thursday’s high bids for the five sold reserve properties by Tuesday at 5 p.m.
35 Morgantown St., currently vacant, sold absolute for $60,000 to Jason Early, who also owns 46 E. Main St., where a Steidl and Steinberg bankruptcy attorney office is located. Early said that he plans to operate the property as office space and that he was inspired to
Early referenced the auctioneer’s note in the Higgenbotham auction pamphlet that states that “our client” has ” … reached the point in his life that he wants to give these opportunities to the next generation of entrepreneurs,” adding that he was inspired by what he characterized as a passing of the torch to young investors.
7 Morgantown St., currently vacant, sold absolute for $23,000 to Tricia Nelson of Uniontown, who owns the real estate business Properties by Zen with her son Josh. Nelson said they might convert the property into a site to sell building materials, although they have no specific plan for what to do with the building yet. Tricia’s husband and business partner Dan said he was disappointed that 27 W. Main St. was pulled from the auction, adding that he would have bid on it.
40 W. South St., currently housing a shaved ice business, sold absolute for $24,000 to Ron Romeo, owner of World Importing Market in Uniontown.
9 Peter St. (formerly Arts and Angles) sold for $48,000, 108 W. Main St. (occupied by Uniontown Laundromat and the Eagles Club) sold for $111,000, 15 W. Main St. (an empty lot) sold for $37,500 and 84 W. Main St. (currently Rizz’s restaurant) sold for $100,000.
The 84 W. Main St. high bid went to Ben Venick, who already operates the restaurant, which opened in 2007.
“It shores me up,” said Venick, who added that he had made a $100,000 offer to Commercial Center Associates three months ago for the property but was informed it was going to auction anyway. “I don’t have to worry about anybody jacking my rent up.”
The only property that failed to sell during the auction was 12, 14 and 22 Morgantown St. (sold as one parcel), which attracted a sole bid of $50,000 that was rejected by Higgenbotham for being too low. Cypher said Commercial Center Associates will reevaluate that parcel.
More than 60 people packed the Hilton Garden Inn ballroom to watch and participate in the auction, and a removable wall had to be opened to make room for additional seating for another dozen or so attendees. Uniontown Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Mark Rafail and Uniontown Downtown Business District Authority Chair Steve Neubauer attended, as did Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township, who Higgenbotham introduced as the “only politician I know who didn’t run for president this year.”
Hardy, 93, bought Uniontown properties in the mid-2000s during his time as Fayette County commissioner as part of the George C. Marshall Plan II, his multimillion downtown revitalization initiative which began in 2004.
Cypher said last month Hardy is keeping ownership of three Uniontown properties: Storey Square, the building that houses Joyce’s Jewelry at 5 E. Main St. next to Storey Square, and the fountain circle across from the Fayette County Courthouse.
The auction’s most prominent attendees are confident that the downtown business district stands to gain from Thursday’s influx of new ownership.
, with unoccupied buildings suddenly subject to new plans from new people.
“That’s always a positive,” Kasievich said.