CORNELIA — Cornelia has dispensed with a downtown building it purchased then learned it couldn't afford to renovate and utilize.
The former Cornelia Bank building, located at 665 N. Main St., on the corner of the block that fronts Irvin Street and backs up to Hodges Street, was most recently used as the trust department of Community Bank & Trust before the failure of that financial institution and subsequent takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission.
"The city acquired that building in 2010 through an FDIC auction at a very reasonable rate," said City Manager Donald Anderson. "The thought process at the time was that we would be able to use it for a cultural arts center."
Because of the building's dominant position on the corner of Main Street spanning the block between Irvin Street and Hodges Street, the city had hoped to revitalize it as an anchor for the redevelopment of the downtown area.
"We didn't have a whole lot of time to really get some expert advice on that ahead of time because the auction was so quick, so we went ahead and bought it," Anderson said.
That decision ultimately left city officials realizing they couldn't invest the amount of money required to bring the building up to the level they had hoped.
"We have had a plan designed, but it would be almost a $5-million project, not to mention several hundred thousand dollars a year commitment to staff the building and keep it open," Anderson said.
A couple of city offices were located in the building temporarily, but since have been relocated.
"We feel that the best thing right now is for us to give it to the downtown development authority with the understanding that it's got to be used for economic development, revitalization of downtown in some form or fashion," Anderson said. "If they have a buyer that wants to buy the building, they're welcome to sell it. The money has to go back into a redevelopment fund."
Or the DDA can finance the property to a prospective business owner, as it did in 2014 when the former Gusben's Downtown building was purchased by Natalie Heisley of Natalie Jane's Restaurant.
In an instance like that, the DDA acts as the bank for the purchaser, loaning the money and allowing the business owner to purchase the building, keeping it on or returning it to the tax digest.
"If they want to move forward with a plan to put some kind of commercial use in there, they have better options to borrow money than the city does through organizations such as Georgia Cities Foundation and [Georgia] Department of Community Affairs has a redevelopment loan fund at very low interest," Anderson said. "There's more opportunities for the DDA. The city can't sell property outright. We would have to auction it, whereas if they wanted to market it they could market it and get full market value for it."
DDA Chairman Brian Horton discussed the issue with the city commission during its work session Tuesday afternoon, and Anderson said he believes Tuesday night's decision to quitclaim the former bank building to the DDA is the right decision for Cornelia.
"Our DDA is a very hardworking unit that has proven themselves over the last five or six years and we feel confident that they'll do the right thing with this building," Anderson said.
