A former Harrison mayor was the high bidder for North Arkansas College's downtown Harrison campus.
The bids, which were opened Tuesday, ranged from $40,000 to $712,500, with former Mayor Jeff Crockett offering the highest bid.
North Arkansas College had been trying to sell a mold-infested, five-story office tower on its center campus, but nobody bid on it in April. Estimates for the mold remediation and repairs ranged from $4 million to $10 million.
So the college put the Tower Building up for sale in June along with an adjacent conference center called the Durand Center. The two buildings and connecting atrium are on a 2.6-acre site at 303 N. Main St. It's known as Northark's Center Campus.
Initially, college administrators thought the single-story Durand Center could be sold only to a governmental entity, so they planned to give it to Harrison to be used as City Hall. Then they learned that the building could be sold to an individual.
Crockett said a recent appraisal indicated that the Durand Center was worth about $1.8 million.
The city of Harrison bid $70,000 for the Center Campus, with the stipulation that the college pay for tearing down the Tower Building.
Crockett said demolishing that building could cost $500,000.
Crockett plans to remove the mold in the Tower Building and lease the building to tenants, with retail and offices on the ground floor and "executive offices" on the top four floors. Crockett said he would continue to operate the Durand Center as an event and conference center.
"I think we can overcome the mold problem," he said.
"The first step undertaken would be dehumidification," according to Crockett's proposal. "After that, we would replace the windows and remove and repair mold damage as required."
Crockett said the work would take about a year.
Current Harrison Mayor Jerry Jackson said he was disappointed with the bid opening.
"I'm just not happy with this," he said. "We were so hoping it could be for the city, but it just doesn't look like that's going to happen. To put that facility into private ownership's hands, it's just so disturbing."
Jackson said a new City Hall may have to be located outside of downtown Harrison.
Powermax Investments LLC of Springfield, Mo., made two offers -- $180,000 for the entire property or $40,000 to "take over the entire property and lease the Durand Center offices to the city for $1 a year and rehab the tower section."
Crockett noted that his bid was half a million dollars more than the next-closest bid.
"I can't see how they could leave that much money laying on the table," he said.
The request for proposals noted that the "final sales award, if any, will not be based solely on the highest purchase price offer." Consideration also will be given to the intended use of the property, the "overall benefit to North Arkansas College and to the Harrison community" and other factors.
Randy Esters, president of North Arkansas College, said he's trying to refrain from forming an opinion until he can present the options to the college's board of trustees and get the trustees' guidance. He said the trustees are scheduled to meet July 11, but they may have a special meeting before then to consider the bids.
"I'm glad that our efforts to carefully navigate the complex issues involved in this process have paid off," Esters said. "We wanted to find a solution that is positive for both the college and the community. I feel good that the offers we received have put Northark in a much better financial position while opening doors to new possibilities for the future of the property."
Founded in 1974, North Arkansas College is a public two-year school with three campuses in Harrison and a Carroll County center in Berryville.
The college bought the Tower Building and adjacent Durand Center in 2005 for an estimated $1.2 million, according to Boone County real estate records. Jackson, who is a real estate agent, said the college probably spent $4 million renovating the two buildings.
Last August, mold was discovered in the top three floors of the tower, which was constructed in 1981 to be a bank.
The tower was put up for sale, but there were no bids. On April 11, the college's board of trustees voted unanimously to proceed with a plan to demolish the tower. But then the trustees decided to offer the two buildings for sale.
Crockett said he owns about 70 commercial properties in Harrison, including several strip centers and free-standing restaurants. He also owns some houses, apartments and about 30 billboards.
State Desk on 06/26/2019