Mt. Vernon set to close on sale of MRC campus

By: 
Steve Chapman

 The campus of the former Missouri Rehabilitation Center is slightly overgrown with vegetation after sitting empty for more than a year. If all went as planned, the property now has a new owner following a June 30 closing. (Photo by Ryan Squibb)

 Developer pays $600k for historic MRC property, plans diverse development
 
The Mt. Vernon Board of Aldermen voted during their meeting on Tuesday, June 23, to pass an ordinance authorizing newly-elected Mayor Jason Haymes to complete the sale of the MRC campus at 600 N. Main to developer Timothy Hogan by conveying the deed to the property to Hogan and to “execute any additional and related documents necessary for that conveyance.” The city has a contract with Hogan to sell him the property for $600,000.
The board first approved a contract to sell the property to Hogan during their meeting on Sept. 24, 2019. At the time, Hogan made a $50,000 down payment on the property and had 90 days to complete his due diligence on the property. At Hogan’s request, the board extended the closing deadline multiple times to allow him more time to inspect the property.
Closing set for June 30
City Administrator Max Springer announced during his report at the board meeting that the closing date for the sale of the property was Tuesday, June 30. He also said he would be taking a group of investors on a tour of the property on Wednesday, July 1.
In a separate interview, Springer said Hogan plans a “mixed-use” development of the property, including “residential uses of various types, some retail and commercial opportunities, possibly entrepreneurial opportunities and maker’s space and light industrial space.”
Local investors
Springer also said he was taking the investors on a tour of the property in the hopes it would make Hogan’s project more likely to succeed.
 “Mr. Hogan is trying to involve local investment groups in the project which will increase local support and excitement,” he said. “I think if local investment dollars are used in assisting with developing the project it has a greater chance of success. I think it would become more of a regional project, not just a Mt. Vernon project.”
In addition to the revenue from the sale, Springer said Hogan’s development could mean several opportunities for Mt. Vernon, including “construction, facility and grounds maintenance Jobs, housing opportunities (and) potential for new small businesses.”
“It all depends on the development,” he said.
In other business…
The board approved a request from the Lawrence Historical Society (LCHS) for the city to donate some of the chairs which had been left in the MRC building. In a letter to the board, Gary Daughtrey, president of the LCHS, asked the city to donate the 125-150 chairs left in the MRC dining room, as the chairs currently used by the society “are over 50 years old and badly in need of replacement.”
The board also approved spending $11,174 to replace seven transformers at the grade school; $9,674 for the new transformers and $1,500 for their delivery. Springer said the new transformers were necessary due to upgrades the district was making to the school building.
 

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Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712
www.lawrencecountyrecord.com

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