Among the 20 properties are the addresses of 500-512 Main St.; 515 Main St.; 509 Main St.; 549-551 Main St.; 553-557 Main St.; 559 Main St.; 571 Main St.; and 573-575 Main St. Also up for sale are addresses in the 500- and 600 blocks of Ross Avenue, five addresses in the 300 block of South 4th Street; and several addresses on Pyramid Hill Boulevard.
The Main Street properties are expected to gain value because city officials envision a continuing transformation of that part of Main Street into an entertainment and shopping district, driven in part by the proposed Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill that is expected to open in 2021 nearby on North B St.
That complex will be a gigantic indoor sports and convention center that is expected to draw 10,000 or more athletes and their families from about a 3.5-hour driving range on some weekends, creating a significant need for restaurants, shopping and entertainment nearby.
Also up for auction are the Smith Road properties in Ross Township, near the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, where the treasured prehistoric Native American earthworks are located. That land could sell for $500,000 or more.
Local allergist Dr. Jeff Leipzig, who was a longtime friend of Barich and his wife, Donna Barich, said he spoke with them many times about their desire to make sure the earthworks, known as “Fortified Hill Works.” The earthworks were listed in 1974 on the National Register of Historic Places.
Archaeologists, historians and others are working to raise money to bid on the Ross Township land so the earthworks, which are of the same era as other Hopewell earthworks that are expected to be added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, can be preserved, studied, and serve as a tourism location.
Dan Bates, president and CEO of the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, said the future owners of those Main Street properties will make a big difference on that business district.
“How those properties move forward would have a significant impact on the face of Main Street,” he said. “I think they are good investment properties. My hope would be that whoever bids on them and gets them are really looking at them for the best use for investments in the future on a citywide basis.”
“With Spooky Nook coming, and a huge economic growth coming, I would hope that whoever secures them, secures them with that in mind — being part of the growth of the city, and not a detriment to the city moving forward,” Bates said.
As for the Hopewell earthworks, he sees a possible tourism lure, “if that can be a designated, bona fide site, and if that can be manicured in such a way that you can actually see part of the mound.”
“I think if it’s a bona fide site, which I hear it is, I think it’s worth saving, but I don’t know if there’s enough interest to save it or not,” Bates said.
The 20 properties include 32 parcels, many of which must be sold together. Two Ross Avenue properties, for example, will go together because a house is built on both of them. Five of the properties are vacant lots without addresses.
Appraised prices for the properties range from $7,500 and $600,000, with an average of about $172,000. The properties will be auctioned Saturday, but sales may not all be finalized then.
For properties on which the high bid is above 90 percent of the appraised value, plus a required additional 6-percent “buyer’s premium,” sales will be accepted on auction day. Bids that are less than 90 percent of the appraised value will not be accepted then, but will be presented to US Bank for consideration.
The sale is being handled by Bowling & Kugler Realty and Myron Bowling Auctioneers Inc. Information about the properties can be found at www.bowlingkugler.com.
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