CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – Clarion County Commissioners Wednesday morning unanimously approved moving ahead with the $319,000.00 purchase of the former Golden Dawn building on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Liberty Street in Clarion for eventual use by county offices of some type.
Closing is expected on October 31 for the building that recently housed Goodwill and A&P many years ago.
The closing and purchase of the building was approved by Commissioners Ted Tharan, Wayne Brosius, and Ed Heasley following “due diligence” reviews of the property. Tharan said earlier when the purchase agreement was approved that county offices in rented properties would be moved to the building.
The exact use of the building is still to be determined following development of plans.
Tharan said there are no projected costs of renovations required for the new tenants, but renovations would include the building of interior walls, HVAC and other mechanicals such as an electrical system that would services the new offices. Tharan earlier projected renovation costs could cost an additional $300,000.00.
“We are currently paying approximately $150,000.00 a year in rent for offices,” said Tharan at an earlier meeting.
“That’s an ongoing expense, and the only way to stop that is to move them into your buildings where you don’t have any rent. Figuring it out over a 10-year period, that’s $1.5 million over the next ten years, and we would have nothing. We’ve put this office project together for $318,000.00 and say another $300,000.00 in it (for modifications). That’s $600,000.00 for 8,000 square feet and at the current rate of $12.00 per square foot, that’s $96,000.00 a year minus other incidentals and utilities, and we could probably save $80,000.00 a year going forward. Would you rather spend $1.5 million or save $80,000.00 a year? It’s a pretty simple equation when you look at it.”
Tharan said the purchase of the building would not require a tax increase and would come from the General Fund using money budgeted this year for a new 911 Center.
One impact of Clarion County purchasing the building would be the loss of tax revenue for Clarion County, Clarion Borough, and Clarion Area School District because it would be taken off the tax rolls. Currently Clarion County receives $1,848.00 in property taxes, Clarion Borough receives $1,848.00, and Clarion Area School District receives $5,521.32.
