Developer drops plans for ACH site

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May 15, 2015 - 12:00 AM

In a matter of minutes, Friday morning, focus for development of the older Allen County Hospital site shifted solely to a grocery store and housing.
“We’re going to pull out,” Arlyn Briggs declared at a special Allen County Commission meeting. “It was never our intent to try to drag out” negotiations to purchase the abandoned hospital and convert it to a care facility for Alz-heimer’s and other patients. “We decided it wasn’t feasible from a financial point.”
Briggs’ group looked to the hospital after deciding conversion of Hedgeapple Acres, a bed and breakfast east of Moran, to a place to care for Alzheimer’s patients also wasn’t feasible, he said. “It would have been foolish to spend $100,000 for three or four people.” Instead, it has continued under Briggs’ management as a bed and breakfast.
Briggs acknowledged G&W Foods’ plan to build a grocery was good for the Iola area. “I believe in competition,” and “thought for sometime Iola needed a grocery,” with Walmart being the only comprehensive grocery in town.
Meanwhile, Briggs said: “We have several projects in the works,” including an Alzheimer’s facility in the Iola area. He mentioned a possible site near Allen County Regional Hospital, and involving Allen Community College in training of care workers.
Commission Chairman Tom Williams concluded the short session by telling Briggs, “You should be commended for the vision you had and trying to do something for the county,” and “also for not leaving us hanging” on the grocery-housing proposal.
While commissioners discussed the older hospital no further, it is known that they are poised to start steps for its demolition to make the site construction-ready. Several weeks ago they had a hazardous materials survey done of the structure, which revealed presence of asbestos in amounts deemed not problematic enough for remediation to incur significant costs. Tuesday they hired Allen County Realty, through John Brocker, to auction excess equipment. And, they are prepared to seek bids to identify a company to do the demolition.
The next revealing step will be time and cost of razing, which will dictate how quickly G&W’s plans, and those for apartment and townhouse complexes, can come to fruition.

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