Williamsport officials now accepting bids for historic City Hall building
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Williamsport City Hall is officially up for sale.
The City of Williamsport started accepting bids Friday for the historic building at 245 W. Fourth St. that has been vacant since 2021, with exception of limited Bureau of Police storage purposes.
Bidding will remain open for 60 days. Bid submission deadline is Sept. 30, at 1 p.m., said Scott Williams, assistant director of the city Department of Community and Economic Development and city planner.
Bids will be unsealed publicly in the City Clerk's office on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. Tabulated bids will then be posted publicly to the city's website by the end of the business day.
It is anticipated that council will take action on bids at either the Oct. 22 or Nov. 5 council meeting.
Bidders should demonstrate the respondent's financial capability, development, renovation and adaptive reuse experience with historic properties.
The building has been closed since late summer early fall of 2021.
That July, water damage occurred from rain that leaked into the building through the roof and gutter and the inoperable ventilation systems resulted in humidity in the interior and the formation of mold. The building was condemned by the Bureau of Codes and deemed unsafe conditions. The air was tested and it was deemed it could be remediated but at a cost and there also were huge costs to make the building fully accessible under law. Mayor Derek Slaughter determined employees' offices were to be relocated out of the structure and had them move into healthy and secure offices in different buildings. That December a burst water pipe sprayed hot water on several floors causing further damage.
The last individual to bid on the property was John Basalyga, a developer with JBAS Realty near Scranton. He bid $555,500. Basalyga said he would convert the upper floors into apartments/office space and the lower end as a common area with a cafe. He said he wanted to bring life and foot traffic back to the building and corner. He said he would, in deference to the need to preserve its historic character, not disturb the exterior.
The council did not accept the offer and instead had the BKV Group study done for $85,000, a study strongly discouraged by Mayor Derek Slaughter at the time.
It has cost the city an estimated $50,000 annually to keep it maintained and heated.