City Council recently approved the purchase with a 7-0 vote.
Selling the property is Virginia R. Rogers. The city wants to buy the land, which has one building on it, “in order to address infrastructure needs related to the (North) B Street Redevelopment Project,” City Manager Joshua Smith recently told council members. “The city anticipates the need for additional lanes or turning lanes at this intersection due to continuing development in this area.”
City Council approved the matter as an emergency measure because “it provides for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety and welfare of the community by allowing the city to acquire this key piece of property and thereby controlling the future redevelopment and to address infrastructure needs related to traffic flow in this area of the city,” according to the legislation itself.
There are two possibilities of how the land could be used: First, the city has spoken about transportation upgrades that need to be made to improve access for thousands of athletes, families and sports teams that would visit the Butler County seat, mostly on weekends. Second, the city more recently has been discussing two related attractions that officials want to see accompany Spooky Nook, which is to be built further north on B Street.
City leaders and other development proponents want to see further growth of an entertainment district that already is developing along Main Street near the river — particularly with the addition of Quarter Barrel restaurant and microbrewery at Main and B streets that will feature rooftop dining — and also are wanting to see development of housing and other attractions from Spooky Nook to the south of Main Street.
The property consists of two parcels just west of the Great Miami River and northeast of the intersection of North B and Park Avenue. Immediately north of the property being sold is a fenced area where boats used by recreational rowing crews are stored.
According to the Butler County Auditor’s Office, the 0.074-acre property property has only land, which is valued at $8,690.
The other property, at 0.082 acres, has a 2,456-square-foot commercial building estimated to have been constructed in 1898. That building is valued at $26,810, with the entire parcel (including the land) valued for tax purposes at $36,440.
Real estate officials and appraisers frequently note it is difficult to estimate the value of unique pieces of land like these because there are few lots to compare them with.
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