ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - What has been an eyesore and a burden for Allen County Commissioners will see massive improvements after the first of the year.
Today, commissioners transferred the eight-acre site of the old county home to the Allen County Port Authority with the hopes of future development. The port authority is managed by the Allen Economic Development Group and the Ohio Revised Code allows the county to transfer the land to the port authority. The building has sat empty for more than a decade with no bids at several auction attempts. This move made the most sense to commissioners as the port authority received a $700,000 loan from the Ohio Department of Development to take the building down.
"They are in the process of lining up the contractors and doing that. So, it just makes sense to follow what the county's done in the past to transfer that property over to the port authority to allow them to take that facility down and then really develop that in conjunction with the Bath Township trustees, you know, on what can be done there," stated Cory Noonan, Allen County Commissioner.
The port authority was also awarded a little more than $800,000 from the Ohio Department of Development to purchase and redevelop the former "EDCO" property on East Kibby Street. Both properties will see shovels moving within the first quarter of 2023.
