Safety building bids to be opened Friday

The pending sale on the city of Hillsboro's former safety building will advance Friday when the city opens bids for the structure's sale. 

Bids on the North High Street building will be accepted until 10 a.m. Sept. 17 at the mayor's office, when the bids will be opened. 

Drew Hastings, who owns several buildings in the uptown area, including the Bells Opera House, confirmed to The Highland County Press this week that he has put in a bid for the building. He declined to comment further until after bids are opened. 

Information regarding the bids becomes public record only after they are opened by the city, according to Hillsboro Law Director Fred Beery. That information includes the number of bids the city receives. 

 Hillsboro City Council previously stated that if the bids are not received for at least two-thirds of the building's appraised value, the bids will be rejected and the structure will be appraised again. The structure, which was built in 1946, is was appraised at a value of $110,000. Terms of the sale are 10 percent down and the net due at 30 days after closing. 

Earlier this year the Highland Community Preservation Group had asked the city to partner with them in restoring and renovating the building to create spaces to house a farmers' market, deli and lease space. 

Hastings told council if he purchased the structure a restaurant could be developed in the space.

The city closed the structure as a safety building in January 2006 due to safety concerns regarding electrical issues, and eventually relocated the Hillsboro Police Department and Hillsboro Fire and Rescue to new headquarters.