Williamsport City Council offers update on bid process for condemned City Hall
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Developers, contractors and interested parties who are bidding on the purchase of City Hall, 245 W. Fourth St., Williamsport, have until 1 p.m. Sept. 30 to turn them in to the city clerk's office.
The pressing deadline was repeated by Scott Williams, assistant director of community and economic development and city planner, during a City Council pre-bid meeting on invitations for bids.
The meeting was suggested by city solicitor to allow council to offer the opportunity to open up a conversation, said Councilwoman Liz Miele.
An iInvitation for bids document went out a month or so ago for the property, which is about 42,000 square feet.
The building could be made available for tours of interested parties upon demand, Miele noted.
It was previously occupied by the city administrative arms, police department and codes department. The property will, pending acceptance of a bid, be sold to the highest bidder.
The previous highest bidder, JBAS Realty, of Jessup, bid $555,500 to recondition the structure into modern apartments on the second and third floors, and create functioning office and common spaces on the lower floors with a possible cafe of sorts.
It is a protected historic structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also will be protected within the deed, if and when the property is sold.
That does mean that it is eligible for tax credits at the federal and state levels in the amount of 20 to 25%.
If the building is sold, the city would be open to working with the successful bidder to seek grant funding to help with the reconstruction.
There is no guarantee that would be successful but would be one component of the sale, meaning "our assistance in trying to find funds to renovate the building," Miele said.
The price tag for renovation is heavily dependent on the developer, which means whether they bring any kind of contracting abilities to the development.
The city estimates a cost of $5 million, on the low end.
The estimate the city received for rehabilitating the structure was in the mid-$20 million range.
However, that high estimate was based on the city's requirement to pay prevailing wage.
"We would anticipate that it would be significantly lower than that for a private developer," Miele said.
Miele asked her fellow council members how they felt about city government potentially being a tenant in the building if someone were to purchase it and fix it up?
"It's always a possibility, but it's nothing that I would commit to at this point in time," Council President Eric Beiter said. "I won't disclose what the details of the conversation are but I know the administration has been looking at potential homes for city government operations," he said. "Whether that's going to be a permanent or a temporary solution we just don't know yet," he said.
Additionally, committing to something like that could potentially be harmful for the bidder, Beiter said, due to prevailing wage.
"Absolutely," Miele said.