Chaffee hopes to sell or lease 'money pit'

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Since May, when the last employees of Thorngate Ltd.'s Chaffee warehouse stopped working there, the 28,000-square-foot building at 630 N. Main St. in Chaffee has sat empty.

Thorngate's termination of its lease on the property was the end of a phase-out process that began in 1996. This is the first time the property hasn't been used in decades.

In its current state, the building, owned by the city, is just a "money pit," said Chaffee Mayor Loretta Mohorc.

City officials couldn't verify the age of the building but did say it's several decades old.

Repairs are needed that could cost up to $74,000, Mohorc said. But Chaffee city leaders will likely move to fill the building one way or another, either by selling it or leasing it.

The question is, which option is better. City leaders should know soon, once an appraisal and survey of the building and property is completed. The property isn't appraised regularly for property tax purposes like most residential and commercial properties. Since it's owned by the city, the property is exempt from those county taxes.

Finding out what the property is worth will be key information in the city's decision-making process.

One business, Fenton, Mo., fabric wholesaler Carr Textile Corp., has publicly stated its interest in leasing the property. Since early summer president Don Carr has made regular appearances at open council sessions, pitching the idea that the city lease his company the building. Under his proposal, Carr Textile would take on the responsibility for the repairs, he said.

Carr already has an operation in Chaffee that employs about 30 people.

Sometimes the talks between Carr and the city council were tense. Carr has become impatient with the amount of time it has taken to get an answer, since he first approached the council in person in June.

"I had to agree with Mr. Carr," Mohorc said. "It's taken the city council a long time to make up their minds what to do."

Meanwhile, council members have reminded Carr that his plan isn't their only option for either filling the space or getting it off their hands.

Mohorc said another company is interested in the building but wouldn't say what company.

Carr declined to speak on the subject because his negotiations with the city are ongoing.

Mohorc said the city has the money to repair the building, if it needed to do so.

"We can do it ... but it would take some of our reserves that we should be spending somewhere else," Mohorc said. "That's why we collectively decided this might be right time to sell it."

The city doesn't owe any money on the building that was deeded to it in 1984. But Mohorc said an empty manufacturing/warehouse space does the city no good.

Mohorc has frequently stated one of her top priorities is bringing jobs and business to Chaffee, a city that, like most area small towns, has become a bedroom community in recent years.

At one time Thorngate's Chaffee plant employed as many as 400 people, while the property at 630 N. Main St. served as a warehouse space for that plant. Before Thorngate, Florsheim Shoe Co. occupied the space.

In the consideration of what to do with the property, Mohorc said filling it with a business that will provide jobs is important.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182