Scioto County Commissioner Scottie Powell says the future looks bright for the former Fifth Third Building.
The commissioners voted unanimously to acquire the building from the bank for $418,000. The approval came after two months of negotiation, during which Powell negotiated the price down from the original asking price of $570,000.
Powell said they were at the point in the purchase process where an engineer goes through the building to make sure it is in good shape. “We’ve put $25,000 in escrow. We’ve signed the initial purchase agreement.”
He said Fifth Third would not be completely out of the building until June when their new building is expected to be fully ready. “We have some time to do our due diligence.”
Powell said the county was not currently in talks with any company about occupying the building. He said the focus is on securing it as an asset to use in the master plan to revitalize Chillicothe Street. “Chillicothe Street is going to be looking pretty good real soon. There’s a lot of potential there. There’s been some unofficial inquiry, but nothing that I’m comfortable talking about. There’s a lot of potential there.”
Commissioner Bryan Davis said there’s also high interest in the SOAR Business Park in Minford. “The inquires just keep on growing. It is incredible the number of calls we are getting. That old saying, ‘build it and they will come’ that’s what we are seeing.”
Davis said the demand for the entire area surrounding the park is also growing.