Mayor: Multiple reasons why Cambridge Springs rejected property sale

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 5—CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — There were multiple reasons why Cambridge Springs Borough Council members on Monday unanimously voted down a proposed tax claim sale of a vacant former nursing home building, Mayor Delores Hale said.

The bid was by JKEGCRAW LLC, owned by Chad Baptiste of Brookfield, Ohio, to buy the vacant building at 110 Canfield St.

On Jan. 25, the Crawford County Tax Claim Bureau got a bid of $8,000 from JKEGCRAW LLC to buy the building, according to the bid document obtained from the bureau by The Meadville Tribune. The site previously was a nursing home.

It would have been a repository sale, which would have required approval of Cambridge Springs Borough Council, PENNCREST School District and Crawford County to go through. Repository properties are those that have been through the annual tax upset sale and a judicial sale but did not sell. The property, which then is under the county tax claim bureau, is available for bid.

"We met with the investor March 20 and he said he had no plans for the property and had no ideas what to do with it," Hale said. "He was vague on financials.

"The building is filled with black mold throughout as well as asbestos and lead paint," she continued. "Cost estimates (for removal) are at $1 million to clean it up. Whomever buys it would have to bring it up to (the borough's building) code."

The borough also didn't want to risk a potential legal fight if any potential owner faltered in getting the building up to code after buying it, Hale said.

The borough is looking into possible blight grant funding for removal of the building from the property.

"It's in the preliminary stages. We want to see if we can get funding to do it right. It's in a (residential) neighborhood and near a school," Hale said.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.