A year ago, an appraisal report the city requested for the property said the Villager Inn was in average condition.
City commissioners voted unanimously at an emergency meeting Friday afternoon to spend an additional $125,000 to have the building knocked down immediately.
“This is a sad day,” Commissioner David Estrop said Friday. “I am deeply disappointed we will not be able to move forward on this project and saddened that some in our community will continue to face homelessness.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
An appraisal completed by Martin + Wood Appraisal Group in July 2022 listed the former hotel as being in average condition.
“The facilities have been adequately maintained. The mechanical systems are considered to be adequate for the use,” the report stated. “Hence, overall the subject improvements are considered to be of moderately favorable functional utility in terms of size and design as a lodging facility.”
The report stated the site could “achieve an acceptable market return, under effective management.”
The burst water main led to “significant” water damage to at least 30 of the former hotel’s rooms, according to a city document.
According to the appraisal report, Martin + Wood did not perform complete tests of mechanical equipment, plumbing or electrical components, as they were not required or requested.
The Springfield News-Sun obtained the appraisal report through a public records request last week. The same records request also asked for any inspections the city requested before the purchase, but on Monday a city spokesperson said officials were still reviewing the request to determine what records existed.
Martin + Wood also completed an appraisal report for the Executive Inn.
In addition to the water main break on the east side of the Villager Inn property, vandalism and criminal activity had also “significantly” increased over the summer, resulting in complaints from neighborhood residents and 12 police calls to the location in July and August, a city report on the building said. A total of 18 calls to police were made about the site since the city obtained ownership in December.
After the fire on the western side of the property on Aug. 14, fire officials initially reported heavy damage to four units with some additional water and smoke damage to other units.
However, a city report issued for the emergency meeting Friday said the fire damaged about 65% of the rooms in one section of the building. On Wednesday, the chief building official, police chief and fire chief sent a memorandum to Bryan Heck, city manager, declaring the site a public nuisance that posed a “significant risk” to the safety and health of the general public and first responders, according to the city document obtained by the News-Sun.
Springfield Police Division had been at the vacant hotel, where there had been issues of squatters, earlier Tuesday before the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
According to the city document, the city had issued a request for proposal in the second quarter of 2023 to convert the Villager Inn to a shelter, but no qualified ones were submitted. Springfield officials then reached out to housing organizations that had “expressed interest in the property” but they said the existing facility “did not appear to be financially feasible or make practical sense for reuse as permanent supportive housing.”
The city in the third quarter of 2023 began to further evaluate the property and prepare demolition bid specifications for partial or full demolition “in an effort to best prepare the site for redevelopment,” the city document said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Redevelopment plans for the site are being evaluated by the city, according to the document.
Last week the city also relocated six families from the temporary homeless shelter at the Executive Inn due to plumbing issues. The Executive Inn was purchased this year as a short-term homelessness solution while the city focused on renovation of the Villager Inn as a long-term alternative.
Several families were sent to a local hotel while plumbing repairs are made to the Executive Inn, which is being managed by Homefull, a Dayton-based nonprofit, along with the city.
About the Author