Proposal to Convert the Old City Municipal Hall Building into the John W. Davis Museum and Visitors Center, and Professional Office Complex.

Presented to the Clarksburg City Building Commission by Tim Gentilozzi on May 9th, 2007

 

OUR PROPOSAL

We acquire the building for little or no upfront cost and promise to make the repairs necessary to obtain a certificate of occupancy, within a set period of time, to be negotiated once the list of necessary repairs is compiled.

\We remodel the ground floor of the building (approx. 3000 sq. ft) to house the Clarksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau, an internet café, and the John W. Davis Museum.  International OnLine, Inc. will design and build the internet café including providing all computers and bandwidth needed to operate it and any ongoing technical support that may be needed.  Any additional space on the ground floor not occupied by one of these groups, will be used by International OnLine, Inc. to house its internet operations or will be leased to a service based business that will add value to the building.  Value to this building will be measured by the additional foot traffic a business creates that other building tenants can benefit from.  Ideally, the Clarksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau will run the internet café and museum, and will be able to keep any profits they earn from memorabilia and food sales made out of this location.  Both the cafe and museum will be looked on to add significant value to the building and CVB, but will not be expected to be a major profit center.

The second and third floors of the building would be remodeled into office space for small businesses with a special emphasis being placed on attracting professionals.  Offices will be set up similar to a high tech incubator where there will be broadband internet provided to each office through International OnLine, Inc., a common high speed copy and fax room, a state of the art conference facility with built in projection and sound for the tenants to share, a small fitness room, and  a common lounge.  The building will be housing several businesses right off the bat including International OnLine, Inc., WV Trial Consultants LLC., Location Realty LLC, West Virginia Taxpayer Coalition Inc. and WV Instruments LLC.  The staff at International OnLine, Inc will act as the building contact and technical support staff for any tenants that move into the building.  IOL will provide pc repair and networking services to the building tenants, if desired, as these services will be included in their lease unless they do not desire them.  Special marketing efforts will be made to market to law firms throughout the state, as they may want to set up a satellite office in Clarksburg but do not want to invest into another office including all the infrastructure necessary to operate a law office.  Now they can afford to locate in Clarksburg because we will be providing the essential services they need to operate and at a fraction of the cost.  Additionally, this building is perfectly positioned between the State and Federal Courthouse making it an excellent location for a law office.

International OnLine, Inc. will host the City of Clarksburg’s and Convention and Visitor Bureau’s website, and combine/link them into clarksburg.com which is owned by International OnLine, Inc.  By combining the hosting of the sites and relocating the CVB to the John W. Davis Professional Building, International OnLine, Inc. will be able to manage and update the information published on these internet sites in an efficient and timely fashion.  Currently, IOL is redoing www.clarksburg.com and is looking forward to providing much needed marketing help to the City and businesses located throughout the city; as Clarksburg.com should be the premier source of information on the area and businesses located in the area.

 

 

Is our proposal economical or pie in the sky?

Still waiting on list of necessary repairs needed to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy

Initial examination leads the group to believe that this building will be economical to remodel and occupy.

Roof, boiler, electrical system and elevator appear to be salvageable as all were in working condition and up to code when the building was vacated in 1997.

Loose brick on the building appears to have been caused by water coming from faulty gutters.  All brick can be repaired around the building and then the roof can be repaired including repairing the gutters and flashing on the slate roof.  Any necessary slate repairs/replacements will be made on a case by case basis.

Most costly repairs may be the improvements required by the fire inspector

Operating costs including taxes and insurance for this building are estimated to be between $30,000 and    $50,000 per year; no more than $4000 per month.  Combining that with the money needed to pay back the initial remodeling loan (estimated) and the monthly cash flow needed to remodel and operate this building should be under $6000 per month.

Will have a better feel for the economics when the final list is prepared

Low interest money is available for this project which will help bring down costs

•WWe expect some level of volunteer labor and donations of materials for the project, and possibly additional support from the City, County, State or Federal Government should the project come to fruition

We have a track record remodeling old buildings, have expertise in the real estate industry, and feel comfortable with these numbers

 

 

WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS TO ACQUIRE AND RESTORE THIS BUILDING?

It is located in the central business district and is a landmark

Historical significance and unique architecture of the building
    Built in 1888
    Architect: Charles L Hickman
    Style: Gothic
    Post Office/Federal Courthouse from 1888-1936
    Federal Building 1936-1966
    Municipal Bldg 1966-1997
    Clarksburg Landmark Building
    Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Positioned directly off Route 50 making it an excellent spot for a museum and visitor center with an internet cafe

Perfectly situated between both the new and old parking garages

Close to both the state and federal courthouses

S
Square footage of the building leads itself to be developed (ie. economical)

Will create additional jobs, economic development and taxes for City

Save the City of Clarksburg up to $212,000 in demolition costs that can be re-appropriated towards demolishing more abandoned and burned out houses throughout the City’s neighborhoods

What happens to the space after demolition as the lot is too small to build a new building and costs of new construction make it uneconomical anyway

Our plan won’t cost the building commission any money

Please give us the necessary time to do our due diligence so we can present a more detailed proposal with expected costs and sources of financing…that is the least you can do to help us get this off the ground and save this historic structure

 

 

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