photo by: File photo

The Baldwin City Council is attempting to sell the old restaurant at 203 First St. that it purchased for $260,000 in March 2018 after recently learning it would cost more than anticipated to convert the structure into a police station.

After learning that it will cost more than they expected to convert a former restaurant property into a new police headquarters, Baldwin City officials are looking to sell that property and use another city-owned site for the project.

In March 2018, the Baldwin City Council purchased the closed restaurant at 203 First St. for $260,000 at the suggestion of Mayor Casey Simoneau. The original goal was to renovate the building, which is situated at the intersection of First Street and U.S. Highway 56, to serve as a new city police station. The Baldwin City Police Department’s current headquarters is a 1,200-square-foot building at 811 Eighth Street that once served as a flower shop, and Baldwin City Administrator Glenn Rodden said the department has outgrown that location.

After purchasing the closed restaurant, the Baldwin City Council agreed to make up to $1 million in bond revenue available to convert the building into a police station, Rodden said. Once finished, the new headquarters would have doubled the amount of space available for the Baldwin City Police Department.

But that plan hit a snag when a structural engineer inspected the old restaurant late last year, Rodden said. The engineer said structural changes needed for the building to function as a police station would add $210,000 to renovation costs, which Simoneau said would bring the total cost of the project to more than what the city had available to spend.

The plan now is to sell the restaurant property and use the proceeds, along with the $1 million in bond revenue, to build a new police station on a property the city already owns, Simoneau said.

The city has not yet determined where the new location might be, Simoneau said.

“We’re looking at every property the city owns to see what is the most viable,” he said. “My preference would be somewhere on U.S. 56 so the police station would be quickly accessible to the entire community. The city owns lots along the highway. In the next 30 days, we’ll have a better understanding of what direction we’re going with this.”

After hearing late last year that the restaurant location wouldn’t be viable, the City Council agreed to seek sealed bids from those interested in buying the property, with a minimum acceptable bid of $260,000. However, no bids were submitted by the deadline of Jan. 15.

Nonetheless, Simoneau remains confident the city soon will sell the old restaurant. A number of parties have expressed an interest in the building, he said. Some of the interested parties are from Baldwin City, he said, while others are from out of town. None of the potential buyers is looking to open a restaurant in the building, he said.