The City Council recently approved a bid of $277,500 to demolish 413 Court Street and I know that many of you are asking why the City is involved. Often the City must get involved when a property has fallen into such a bad state of disrepair that demolition is the only viable option. You might also be asking:
Why doesn’t the City repair 413 Court Street rather than demolish another downtown building? The City explored the option of repairing 413 Court Street rather than demolishing it. The City hired Fakler Architects, LLC to examine the building and provide his opinion on repairing the building. Fakler’s report from March 2021 stated “[d]ue to a prolonged period of neglect, 413 Court Street has suffered significant damage. Storm damage on the roof has allowed water into the building for approximately 25 years.” An inspection of the building revealed that part of the floor has collapsed, the walls have become structurally unstable, and all of the major building components need significant repairs. Fakler estimated that repairing the building to a “cold shell” would likely be in the range of $300,000 to $400,000. This “cold shell” would not include any plumbing, mechanical, HVAC, or interior finishes. With the costs of repair exceeding demolition, the City chose demolition.
Why does the property owner still own the property after the City demolishes the building? The City can only take someone’s property through eminent domain, which can only be used in limited circumstances. The process of condemning and demolishing a building does not include the City taking the property from the property owner. At the end of the demolition process, the property owner still owns the property. The City can work to collect the money that was spent on the demolition, but the City does not automatically acquire the property.
How does the City collect from the property owner? Just like anyone else that provides a service and does not receive payment, the City files a civil lawsuit against the property owner for the money the City expended on the demolition. The City cannot file this lawsuit until the demolition is complete and the City knows exactly how much money was spent on the demolition. In the civil lawsuit, the City will look for any assets that belong to the property owner. These assets may include the real estate where the building was located, other real estate owned by the property owner, and the current wages of the property owner.
How can we prevent the demolition of more downtown buildings? Unfortunately, years of neglect have led to a serious state of disrepair for some buildings in the downtown. The City will not be able to correct all of the issues overnight. The first step in preventing the demolition of additional downtown buildings is the adjoining building inspections. These inspections enable the City to examine buildings and identify issues before they become serious. As with 413 Court, years of neglect take their toll on buildings and the City is hopeful that more frequent inspections can address issues before they become problems.
The second step is the downtown revitalization grants that the City has received. Infusing money into improvements in downtown buildings helps to keep buildings viable. Additionally, as property owners make improvements to their buildings, the desire to fix buildings starts to spread to other property owners.
Third, the City has been working with downtown building owners to revitalize their upper store living units in the downtown. Many of the downtown buildings were built with living units on the upper floors. By breathing new life into these living units we will attract more people to live downtown. Having more people in the downtown means that there are people around to go to the local shops and restaurants which in turn makes those businesses more successful.
Finally, the City and Main Street Beatrice are very actively working to make improvements in the downtown. The improvements in the downtown In the last fifteen (15) years include the rehabilitation, construction, or installation of: the Carnegie Building, river access, Pioneer Trail, 2nd Street, Fire Station, public art, decorative lights, and three (3) downtown revitalization grants totaling over $1.1M.
Revitalization of the downtown will not occur overnight, but not investing in the downtown is not an option for the long-term success of Beatrice.
While no one likes spending money to demolish buildings, sometimes it is the only viable option. Now the City must make the best out of this bad situation.
Tobias J. Tempelmeyer
City Administrator