Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The deadline has come and gone for the Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology to offer a counter-appraisal of a blighted downtown property that the Shawano Redevelopment Authority wants to either acquire or condemn.
Public Works Director Eddie Sheppard, a staff adviser to the RDA, said the deadline passed over the weekend with no correspondence from SIST.
He said the next step would be to contact SIST and see if an offer to purchase can be negotiated.
The RDA in April initiated proceedings that could lead to the condemnation of the long-vacant property at 214 S. Main St., along with another vacant property attached to it.
An appraisal presented to the RDA two months ago concluded the property was essentially worthless in its current condition.
According to the appraisal, the property at 214 S. Main St. would be worth $42,000 as a vacant lot.
However, demolition of the building was estimated to cost anywhere from $68,000 to $100,000, Sheppard said, which led appraisers to place the property’s value at “zero dollars.”
The much smaller and landlocked adjacent property at 216 S. Main St. was valued at $5,300 without the existing building on it. The cost of demolishing that building was estimated at $8,000 to $13,000.
The city conducted a court-ordered inspection of the 214 S. Main St. property last year that showed it was a health and safety hazard and was structurally unsound.
City officials have said if that property is razed, the adjacent building at 216 S. Main St. would have to go as well because of its shared wall.
SIST had 60 days to respond with an appraisal of its own.
The matter could go to court if an offer to purchase can’t be agreed upon, but Sheppard said the RDA wants to negotiate in good faith.
The RDA had previously asked SIST to provide plans for either renovation or removal of those properties but never got a response, despite several time extensions, according to city officials.
The RDA also reviewed an appraisal last week of SIST properties at 143-145 S. Main St.
Sheppard said they were valued at a total of $46,000.
SIST will have 60 days to offer an appraisal of its own.