| | | | | | | | 
Staff REPORT
Information/Discussion ITEM
|
| | | | | | | | SUBJECT:
| Pullen House Options, 301 S. 20th Street - Sale and/or Demolition Funding Budget Amendment (Dale Lehnig, Joshua Goff) pg. 246
| DATE OF MEETING:
| May 23, 2023
| | Staff CONTACT(S): | Dale E. Lehnig, Engineering, Planning & Development Director
Joshua Goff, Asset Management Coordinator
|
|
| | | | | | | |
SUMMARY and RECOMMENDATIONS:
The property that is commonly called “the Pullen House” is located at 301 S. 20th Street in the Town of Purcellville. Since the purchase of the property by the Town in 2010, the condition of the house and the question of what to do with the property has been discussed by Town Council multiple times. Since the home has not been occupied, the property has deteriorated and a decision must be made regarding the disposition of the house and property before it becomes a safety hazard. Staff is requesting direction from the Town Council as to whether the house should be demolished with the property remaining in the Town’s possession for a future use, or the house/property should be sold.
In summary, the three options presented are:
1. Request Town Council to approve budget amendment (BA 23-038) for $77,803 to demolish the Pullen house; OR
2. Request Town Council to authorize staff to begin the process to sell the Pullen house and property through a sealed bid process; OR
3. Request Town Council to authorize staff to begin the process to sell the Pullen house and property using a real estate firm to sell the property.
|
| | | | | | | |
BACKGROUND:
The Pullen property was identified by Town Council in 2010 as a property adjacent to Fireman’s Field that would have strategic value. The Town purchased the Pullen house for $175,000 on January 11, 2011. The property is 0.49 acres. A plat showing the property is shown in Attachment 1. The current Loudoun County assessment for the property is $367,680. The land value is $224,500 and, $143,360 for the building.
The property has a zoning designation of R-3 duplex. There are no deed restrictions, conservation easements or financing options since the Town paid cash for the property; the Town Council has exclusive control of what to do with this property. The house has been determined by the zoning administrator not to be a historical structure nor is it a contributing structure as defined in the zoning ordinance. A permit to demolish the house could therefore be issued by the Town.
Two previous staff reports are attached to this report as additional background information. Attachment 2 is a staff report from April 25, 2017; Attachment 3 is a staff report from September 12, 2017. This report provides a brief summary of the previously presented information, with updated financial information. In 2021, Town Staff presented these options to the Town Council, and the direction from the Town Council was to sell the house through a sealed bid process. More detail about this process is below in the discussion of Option 2, Sell the Pullen House through a sealed bid process.
Option 1. Demolition of the Pullen House
Recently, Town staff requested quotes from three contractors to demolish the house. The work would include the following:
• Disconnection of the existing water and sewer utilities
• Asbestos abatement, removal of the underground storage tank
• Demolition of the house, garage, and foundations
• Backfilling the foundation of the house
• Fine grading and stabilization of the site.
The lowest quote to perform the work listed above is $75,303. An additional $2500 will be needed for environmental testing and permit fees, Loudoun County demolition permit, Town of Purcellville demolition permit, and fuel oil disposal fee. The total estimated cost to demolish the house is therefore $77,803. In order to move forward with the demolition of the house, a budget adjustment would be need to be approved by the Town Council. Budget Adjustment BA 23-038 is in Attachment 4.
Option 2. Sell the Pullen House through a sealed bid process.
As noted above, in 2021 Town Staff was given direction from the Town Council to go through a sealed bid process in order to obtain bids for the sale of the Pullen house. Attachment 5 includes the IFB, Addenda to the IFB, and Bid tabulation for TC-2021-03. After review of the bids, all were either rejected or withdrawn. An IFB for the sale of the property could be advertised with minimal changes to the previous IFB.
Option 3. Sell the Pullen house and property using a real estate firm to sell the property.
If the Town Council determines that this is the preferred option, the services of a realtor would need to be competitively procured with a simple quote process, since the cost should be under our $200,000 formal bid limit. Some of the quote requirements to consider would be:
*Commission percentage
*Marketing Plan
*Length of time we would need to engage with them exclusively
*Years selling in Purcellville
|
| | | | | | | |
BUDGET IMPACT:
The cost to demolish the Pullen House is estimated to be $77,803, which would be an expenditure from the Parks & Recreation Fund. Although there is no direct impact to proceeding with the sale of the property, Staff time and resources will be required.
If the property is sold, the impact to the Parks & Recreation budget would be positive. An appraisal would be a cost, since it is a critical element to understand the potential revenue that might be recognized and to determine if bids are fair and reasonable. In a previous discussion regarding the Pullen house, one of the members of the Town Council suggested that a portion of the sale might be used toward the construction of the outdoor stage that is proposed at Fireman’s Field.
|
| | | | | | | |
MOTION(S):
(1) “I move that the Town Council approve budget adjustment (BA 23-038) in the amount of $77,803 to fund the demolition of the Pullen House.”
OR
(2) “I move that the Town Council direct staff to move forward with a soliciting proposal for sealed bids to sell the property located at 301 S. 20th Street in Purcellville, Virginia.”
OR
(3) “I move that Town Council direct staff to move forward with procuring a real estate firm to sell the property located at 301 S. 20th Street in Purcellville, Virginia.”
|
|