At the February 2 Lancaster County commissioners work session, county solicitor Don Lefever presented the commissioners with an agreement to ‘sell’ the County’s property at 225-233 West King Street to EDC Finance Corporation. According to Lefever, the transaction serves to enlist EDC as a realtor of sorts: “It’s essentially them acting as a commercial broker, escrow capacity,” Lefever said.
Lefever told NewsLanc that EDC will be compensated with a 2.5% commission upon sale of the property.
The facility, once home to County office space, now sits vacant. Last year, with a slumping real estate market, the County was unsuccessful in its search for a buyer. The property has since been reappraised.
Commission Scott Martin said that the County’s objective for the sale will be twofold: “From our end, though we want to meet county code in terms of what taxpayers get back, we also want to get something on that block that would be a good staple for revitalization in Lancaster City.”
Gene Aleci, principal and founder of Community Heritage Partners, encouraged the commissioners to find a buyer that would contribute positively to the surrounding block. Aleci’s firm owns several buildings on the block and has been working formally and informally to guide the area toward revitalization. “The property that the County now wishes to dispose of is quite pivotal to the future of that block,” Aleci said.
The board of commissioners will vote on agreement at their Wednesday public meeting.
