The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority approved proposals for two properties on Wednesday, but neither have officially sold yet.
After discussing the matters in executive session, the board voted in favor of a proposal by Charleston, South Carolina-based firm Mountain Shore Properties to purchase and develop the former Holley Hotel site.
But some details must be ironed out before the board can finalize the sale, Chairman Jack Cavender said. The first is clarifying that Mountain Shore is aware the Ott Building, at 209 Dunbar St., is included in the sale.
"We want to make the purchaser understands it will include the Ott Building - it's all within the redevelopment," Cavender said. While the urban renewal authority already had permission from the city to demolish the building, the company will have the option once the sale is finalized.
Cavender said Mountain Shore must also be notified of a tiny sliver of the Ott Building site that isn't owned by the city, but by nine different heirs through a past inheritance. The board has been contacting those heirs individually to purchase their respective shares of that property.
"To be able to transfer property to any purchaser, we have to make sure the title is cleared of all people considered owners," Cavender said.
Once those items are addressed, the board and Mountain Shore must agree to a redevelopment plan for the site by its April meeting before it can be sold.
The board is farther along with the other site in question at 170-178 Summers St., known to many as the former location of B&B Loans. The purchaser, McKinley Properties, plans to develop the property into office space on the second and third floors, and retail on the ground floor Urban Renewal Authority Director Jim Edwards said.
"They would purchase and develop it at their own expense," Edwards said. "As with all agreements, if it isn't done as specified, then the property reverts back to CURA ownership."
McKinley still needs to establish a date for construction to begin, Cavender said.
Also on Wednesday, the board agreed to approve a request by Councilwoman Keeley Steele for a conditional use permit regarding tattoo studios on the East End that's nearly identical to the one passed by City Council last month.
The conditional use permit would create a process for tattoo studio owners seeking permission to open shop in the Corridor Village District, which includes the "overlay zone" of commercial buildings along Washington Street East between Elizabeth and Morris streets. The only difference in the proposed bill is that two tattoo studios would need to be at least 500 feet apart, whereas the city's downtown ordinance requires 1,500 feet.
"We feel this is a use that would fit right in with where we're trying to be as an arts district," Steele said.
The bill now must clear Council's Urban Renewal Committee before City Council votes on it.
The leaders of Hands On West Virginia, a community service organization that pushes widespread volunteerism, presented a proposal to the board Wednesday. The organization's director, Mike Shinn, requested that the board purchase one home on the city's West Side, as well as materials to restore it. The group, which recruits hundreds of volunteers for local projects, would complete all of the needed renovations for the home, then return it to the urban renewal authority to sell to a low-income family.
The volunteers, including hundreds of high schoolers, completed numerous projects on West Side homes last year, including painting, replacing siding and flooring, tile work and installing hand rails and ramps for city residents who couldn't fund or carry out such improvements on their own.
"Our purpose is about helping people mobilize, especially youth, to get back in their communities," Shinn said.
The group has been approved to help coordinate community service projects with high school clubs in the county, he added.
"Out goal is to have 800 students and trained adults involved in projects across the valley this summer," Shinn said.
The board will address the request at its February meeting.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.