BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE -- City officials are still looking for that special buyer who is looking for a nice 5-acre lot, in the heart of the city, with or without a multi-use structure that now serves as City Hall and the police station.
The current city building will become surplus in August when the seat of government in Florence is moved to the new government center on Ewing Boulevard.
Naturally, the city administration would like to have a sale pending when the move takes place.
"Some people have talked to us in very general terms, but we have seen no specific plans for the site," city coordinator Roger Rolfes said Thursday.
The tract on U.S. 42 is zoned for public facilities, but Mr. Rolfes emphasized that the city would consider all compatible land uses and look kindly on zoning amendments for the right owner.
"Since city council would make the final decision on a zoning change, I would have to think that zoning is not a real problem," he said.
Mr. Rolfes also emphasized that under its current zoning, the site would be ideal for a nursing home or similar facility. But with a library on one side, a nursery - landscaping business on the other and homes behind it, the land could be zoned for a number of purposes.
"The minimum bid accepted will be the last appraised value, $1.125 million," he said. "Actually, that's a good deal because the property hasn't been appraised for a couple of years and inflation would certainly bring the value up."
The city building, opened in 1964, is in need of considerable work, and Mr. Rolfes said it certainly was not out of the question that a buyer would choose to demolish the structure and start from scratch.
The city received an offer of $1.125 million last year from Boone County, but turned it down because the county's offer hinged on the Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC) remaining in the old building.
The county wanted to renovate and upgrade the building, maintaining PSCC facilities and also using it for other county government services.
