VALDOSTA —
After purchasing a block of property across from the Valdosta State University Fine Arts Building, McAlister Development, the Charleston, S.C., construction company, is selling historic houses standing on the property for $10 each.
The 11 houses were built between 1935 and 1950 on the block bounded by West Brookwood Drive, North Oak Street, West Jane Street and North Toombs Street. They must be either removed or razed to make way for a student housing project that McAlister plans to begin at the end of March.
McAlister is selling all houses on the block for $10 each, with the buyer responsible for the cost of moving. However, there are some funds available to help with this process, according to Vice President of Student Housing James Bakker, who said the costs of moving are variable.
“It’s all kind of dependent on which house they want and where they’re trying to move it,” Bakker said. “If they’re trying to move it 20 miles away, that’s going to be very different from moving it a mile.”
The offer to sell the houses was “part of what we have to do for the Historic Preservation Commission,” Bakker said, which would rather move the old homes rather than demolish them.
Some of the houses are unoccupied, while others contain tenants renting rooms. One tenant said he was informed in April that he would have to move out, but he said this isn’t inconvenient because he had planned to move anyway in May 2013. His timeline will be pushed ahead a few months.
Buyers must accept the houses in their current condition and are responsible for all coordination to move the house they purchase, including permits and abatements, according to information from McAlister.
Buyers can contact Valdosta College Housing, LLC at (843) 388-1750 for more information, or email the company at VCH@gmail.com.
McAlister’s deadline to move all the houses is March 9, 2013. The company is hoping to break ground on the project at the beginning of April, Bakker said, and to complete the facility by June or July of 2014. The four-story facility will occupy the entire block, and offer housing and amenities to students as well as shopping opportunities on the bottom level.
McAlister is a private developer that is financing the project itself. While the facility will cater to students, it is not affiliated with Valdosta State University.
“It’s a pretty exciting project,” Bakker said. “It should be a great addition to the community. It’ll get people out of their cars and enable them to walk to class. We’ve enjoyed Valdosta and meeting everybody that we’ve met and worked with.”
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After purchasing a block of property across from the Valdosta State University Fine Arts Building, McAlister Development, the Charleston, S.C., construction company, is selling historic houses standing on the property for $10 each.
Discussion
Homes available for $10
Eleven houses must be moved or demolished
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