AUBURN - City councilors are expected to decide the fate of the crumbling Kalet building Thursday night when they're asked to approve spending $308,000 to stabilize the former department store.
The council would authorize awarding a contract to Bouley Associates of Auburn to make the immediate necessary repairs to save the building along the State Street Pedestrian Mall. The local construction firm has agreed to cut the original cost of $388,000 by $80,000 to do the work, said City Manager John Salomone.
Working with Bouley, the city was able to find some "engineering savings" since the construction company submitted a bid last year, Salomone said. "We're doing things a little differently," he said.
The city would use Community Development Block Grant money to stop the art deco-style building from deteriorating further.
City officials have said that demolishing the historic structure at 3, 5 and 7 State St. would leave a large gap in the downtown business district. If torn down, the site would probably be turned into a parking lot. Tearing down the building and redeveloping the site would cost $234,450, Salomone said.
"While the up-front costs are greater than the demolition by about $73,000, there are less knowns and potential liabilities involved in the stabilization option versus demolition," Salomone wrote in a Nov. 12 memo to council.
The city had hoped that Fonda Chronis, owner of Rickey's Restaurant on Genesee Street, could get bank financing to restore the building. Chronis had put together a business plan to turn the vacant building into a restaurant, banquet center and tavern, but two banks concluded it was too much of a risky venture to give him the financing for the $600,000 project.
Chronis was the developer the city picked from three who had submitted proposals last year. The restaurant project would have been the showcase business for the reopening of the State Street Pedestrian Mall to a one-way street.
The city planning department hopes to find another developer to restore the building.
Stabilizing the building and constructing the new road will make it easier to find another developer, city officials theorize. That work includes repairing a gaping hole in the roof that has left much of the second-story floor rotted. Many of the interior walls have also disintegrated to the point where there is now asbestos and pigeon droppings that must be removed.
Work on both the building and road would be coordinated with each other, Salomone said.
"We'll dovetail it with the construction of the road," he said.
The building repairs and site work for the road would start soon after the first of the year. The road will take about eight months to complete.
Working with Bouley, the city was able to find some "engineering savings" since the construction company submitted a bid last year, Salomone said. "We're doing things a little differently," he said.
The city would use Community Development Block Grant money to stop the art deco-style building from deteriorating further.
City officials have said that demolishing the historic structure at 3, 5 and 7 State St. would leave a large gap in the downtown business district. If torn down, the site would probably be turned into a parking lot. Tearing down the building and redeveloping the site would cost $234,450, Salomone said.
"While the up-front costs are greater than the demolition by about $73,000, there are less knowns and potential liabilities involved in the stabilization option versus demolition," Salomone wrote in a Nov. 12 memo to council.
The city had hoped that Fonda Chronis, owner of Rickey's Restaurant on Genesee Street, could get bank financing to restore the building. Chronis had put together a business plan to turn the vacant building into a restaurant, banquet center and tavern, but two banks concluded it was too much of a risky venture to give him the financing for the $600,000 project.
Chronis was the developer the city picked from three who had submitted proposals last year. The restaurant project would have been the showcase business for the reopening of the State Street Pedestrian Mall to a one-way street.
The city planning department hopes to find another developer to restore the building.
Stabilizing the building and constructing the new road will make it easier to find another developer, city officials theorize. That work includes repairing a gaping hole in the roof that has left much of the second-story floor rotted. Many of the interior walls have also disintegrated to the point where there is now asbestos and pigeon droppings that must be removed.
Work on both the building and road would be coordinated with each other, Salomone said.
"We'll dovetail it with the construction of the road," he said.
The building repairs and site work for the road would start soon after the first of the year. The road will take about eight months to complete.
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