Monroe County officials are planning to put three buildings up for auction, including two buildings that were once part of the Renaissance Square project.
The county plans to sell Gateway Centre, 150 East Main Street; the Edwards building, 34 St. Paul Street; and 37 South Fitzhugh Street. All three were donated to the county by developer Max Farash.
County officials have included revenue from the sale of the buildings in the last few county budgets, though the buildings remain unsold. This would be the county's first attempt to auction the properties. The sale has to be approved by the Legislature. During a Legislature committee meeting last week, county real estate director Tim Murphy said officials used the same process to sell part of the former Iola campus.
The county once planned to use the Gateway Centre and the Edwards building in the Renaissance Square project, which lurched to a halt in 2009. The project would have combined a bus terminal, theater, and Monroe Community College campus on a block at the corner of East Main Street and North Clinton Avenue.
After the project died, MCC officials evaluated Gateway and Edwards for use as a potential downtown campus site. But they decided against it due to the cost of renovating the properties.
County officials would set a reserve on the three properties, which means they wouldn't accept a figure below a certain amount. The county isn't disclosing that figure, but in the 2013 budget, officials included $2 million in revenue from the sale of the three buildings.
The Gateway Centre and Edwards buildings, which would be sold together, are located in the heart of downtown, not far from the new Midtown site. County spokesperson Justin Feasel says that the Edwards building would require some asbestos remediation, but that the work has already been done in Gateway Centre.
The county once planned to use the Gateway Centre and the Edwards building in the Renaissance Square project, which lurched to a halt in 2009. The project would have combined a bus terminal, theater, and Monroe Community College campus on a block at the corner of East Main Street and North Clinton Avenue.