City department eyes spec building (02/20/08)

A vacant building designed for industry might become the home of the Portland Street and Parks Department.

City officials are considering moving the street and park department building into a vacant building, located on county road 100 North.

The building, owned by the Portland Economic Development Corporation, has been unoccupied for six years.

It was built using economic development income tax (EDIT) funds on the speculation that a business or industry would locate there.

"We need more room," said Jeff Harker, street and park department superintendent, who is the one who proposed moving department headquarters to the 50,000-square foot spec building.

The topic is expected to be discussed at the March 6 Portland Board of Works meeting. City officials are considering having The Schneider Corporation do a feasibility study on the spec building.

The board of works was scheduled to meet on Thursday, but that meeting was cancelled this morning.

The building has not been used for six years, Harker said. In recent years, local entrepreneur Glynn Barber leased the building for his XPLEX Extreme Competition Park, but those plans never came to fruition.

City mayor Bruce Hosier said Barber installed heating and air conditioning systems in the building, and had a concrete floor poured.

Barber had planned to use the structure for paintball tournaments. The park project has been in limbo since 2006, and Barber is not leasing the spec building.

Harker said he isn't concerned about the building's size or the fact that the headquarters would not be centrally located. The street and park department building, which was built in 1949, currently is located on Wayne Street, at Weiler-Wilson Park.

"We just have no room for anything. We're looking for more room," Harker said Tuesday afternoon. "It gives us some room to grow."

If the street and park department office were moved to the spec building, the department's trucks, salt trucks, salt and maintenance could all be housed in one building. Also, the building could be used to store the city's Christmas decorations and items planned to be sold at city auction, he said.

"I don't know that (the location of the building) will be a factor," Harker said, adding that city employees already do mowing and other upkeep in that area. "I don't see that being a problem at all."

There is another option on the table as far as another location for the street and park department headquarters.

Plans for Hudson Family Park include the construction of a new headquarters for the department.

Harker said plans call for the new building to be 50-feet by 100-feet, which isn't much larger than the current location.

Hosier said the financial impact of both proposed locations will be weighed in making a decision. "We're just looking at all the options that are available," he said.

Besides being too small, the current location for the department is not well insulated and the heating system does not work very well, Harker said. Also, there is only one restroom for both men and women.

The spec building was originally constructed to house a future industry. Harker said the building has set empty for six years and no businesses are interested in occupying the structure. If the street and park department were to move to the spec building, the existing building and a salt storage facility could be razed to create more parking for Junior League baseball and softball games, he said.

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