City Moves Ahead with New Acquisition as Part of Town Tavern Clean-Up

LOCK HAVEN – City council Monday night will vote on a resolution “acknowledging the condemnation” of a one-story property at 55 Bellefonte Avenue.

That council action will be the latest twist in the protracted Lock Haven effort to clear out and spruce up the old Heilig-Meyers/Town Tavern site for future development.

Anticipated council action Monday night is in line with the city’s intent to now obtain the property at 55 Bellefonte Avenue through “deed in lieu of condemnation through the eminent domain process,” according to city manager Greg Wilson. The building at 55 Bellefonte Avenue is currently owned by T & C Properties. Wilson had reported earlier that the city has had a dialogue with the owners and he said Monday a settlement agreement for city acquisition is under review by the present owner’s attorney. Once that is done, Wilson said, “We hopefully can move forward with finalizing the project.”

The one-story building had been vacated and posted as unsafe during the tear-down of the old Town Tavern site and the adjacent former Earl Kennedy Jr. building at 53 Bellefonte Avenue. The Town Tavern building went down without problems, but the Kennedy building demolition was halted earlier this year when it was determined the adjacent T & C structure does not have an exterior wall that adjoins the Kennedy site wall.

Ultimately, once the Kennedy lot and the T & C Properties lots are cleared and filled, the city will own half an acre of developable commercial land in the downtown. Wilson had said earlier once the area is cleared, that frontage along with the already leveled Heilig-Meyers plot will be marketed. Wilson said the city could then hold a public auction or accept sealed bids towards getting the land back on the tax rolls. That would not preclude, he said, a developer coming forward in the interim with a development proposal.