ROCK SPRINGS — Anyone interested in the First Security Bank Building will have more incentive to make an offer as the Rock Springs City Council voted to lower the asking price Tuesday night.
The Council originally approved the building’s sale at $500,000 in May. However, that deal fell through and the city once again hopes someone will buy the building.
The Council approved a new contract that amends the property address to 502 and 504 Main Street, while dropping the asking price from $800,000 to $500,000. The resolution continues the contract already in place with Keller Williams Realty Western Trails. Councilman Rob Zotti said he would like to discuss finding a local agent to sell the property. The idea also has Mayor Max Mickelson’s support. Mickelson said the company has listed it for sale for two years, but believes the city isn’t a high priority for the real estate company.
“They’ve had this listing for a long time, I just think we need to give local businesses an opportunity to sell this property as well, rather than an out of state realtor,” Zotti said.
Councilman Larry Hickerson asked if the new price had a potential buyer already considering purchasing the building, but Mickelson said no.
“The listing agent thought because the cost of finishing the building are so high and the last buyer, when they did a complete analysis decided there was not a way to make it profitable, that lowering the asking price to half a million was our best bet to get somebody interested enough to come in and look,” Mickelson said.
Mickelson said the cost to finish the building is approximately $12 million. He also said it’s difficult to make it a multifamily structure due to the lack of nearby parking. He said the building lacks windows, HVAC, electricity, or plumbing; missing infrastructure he jokingly referred to as “minor drawbacks.”
“It is just a challenging building,” Mickelson said.
For the city, another complication comes from the fact the city is required to pay back 90% of the sale amount to the repay grants the city received to restore the building. At the $500,000 list price, $450,000 would need to be paid back.
