A Columbus landmark is getting a new owner.
The Columbus City Council approved the city’s purchase of the Gilmer Inn, located at 321 Main St., during an executive session on Oct. 20.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage said the city has agreed to purchase the aging property for $425,000 from its current owner Shareeji, LLC. The city will take ownership by Dec. 1.
The Gilmer Inn’s owner was unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon. However, a hotel worker told The Dispatch that the Gilmer Inn has 75 rooms, some of which are currently unusable.
Turnage said he and Mayor Robert Smith first went to Chicago to meet with the Gilmer Inn’s owner in the middle of the summer.
He said the parties couldn’t reach an agreement for purchase at the time, but another opportunity arose in the fall when Smith went to Chicago again to a Brownfield conference with city planner Christina Berry.
“We told her (the owner) as we left that the city is not going to be able to allow the hotel to remain in its present condition, which is not good at all,” Turnage said of the first meeting. “There are a whole lot of rooms that are run down, unrentable and not being rented. There were other code issues that we could see from the exterior and that we were going to be coming inside and inspect and require upgrades. That wasn’t so much a threat, but did help us reach an agreement.”
Turnage said the city ultimately plans to demolish the Gilmer Inn. The purchase agreement allows the inn owners or residents 60 days from the Oct. 20 meeting to remove any personal or other property from the building.
“Once they’re finished with that 60 day period, I’m assuming the city will pretty quickly do whatever sampling is required to determine what environmental issues need to be remediated,” Turnage said. “We’ll do that, then either hire out demolition or demolish it in house.”
Turnage said officials have previously floated several concepts of what to do with the Gilmer Inn location. However, he said he was not aware that any definitive plans are currently on the table.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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