Might empty uptown storefronts be occupied soon?

Local development officials and business people are holding out hope that some long-empty storefronts in uptown Athens may soon be filled -- including the building that once housed a Woolworth store, but whose boarded-up street-level floor and basement has sat empty for the last 17 years.

"There is something occurring with that situation right now," reported John Wharton, a local real-estate owner/manager who owns University Off-Campus Housing. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel, we hope."

Another building that could find a new owner soon is the one that once housed the Blue Gator blues bar and restaurant, midway down the last block of North Court Street. Perhaps less likely to be filled anytime soon, apparently, is the empty South Court storefront that was once home to Burger King (in the same ground-floor as CVS).

Wharton declined to give any details of the pending Woolworth building transaction, or who is involved, but said that a deal is ready to be signed to sell the building which could mean that a new commercial tenant could later be found to occupy it.

"There is a completed purchase contract," Wharton said, though he added that certain contingencies must still be met before the deal will be finalized.

The site, which is appraised by the county as being worth more than $1.1 million, is owned by the Gilee Group, LLC, a company formed in 2001 by Carolyn E. Gilmore of Athens.

The Athens NEWS was unable to reach Gilmore for comment.

The building, at 31 S. Court St. does have apartments on its upper floor. Since Woolworth closed up shop in 1994, however, its street-level floor has been empty, and for years has been boarded up with plywood. It also has a spacious basement that Woolworth's occupied, which also remains empty of any business.

The former Burger King space has been empty since 2003, when the restaurant moved to a site near Walmart on East State Street. The South Court Street building, which also includes a large apartment section in the upper floors, a parking garage and the ground-level CVS, is owned by the Phoenix on Court Limited Partnership, a company formed by Franklin County developer William H. Trembly, Jr., in 2005.

Todd Shelton of the Athens County Economic Development Council confessed to feeling some frustration at trying to find a tenant for the Burger King retail space; Trembly, he said, won't even pick up the phone to talk about the site.

Shelton said he has tried in the past to contact both Gilmore and Trembly about seeking new commercial prospects for their buildings, but "I never got responses back."

The Athens NEWS, likewise, could not reach Trembly for comment.

In marked contrast to the Burger King site, Shelton said, the old Blue Gator site at 63 N. Court St. is generating a great deal of interest among possible buyers. The site is featured prominently on a chamber website listing available local commercial properties.

"That's probably one of the top sites I get calls for," Shelton reported.

In February 2010, Hocking Valley Bank, which held the mortgage on the site, bought it at sheriff's auction for $600,000, after it was foreclosed upon. This was $50,000 more than the county had appraised the property at.

The deed to the building had been held by GTA Holdings LLC, a local company whose principals included former hostage Terry Anderson. Court Street Management, a company in which Anderson was a partner, ran the Blue Gator until it closed in mid-2008.

Wharton said he believes Hocking Valley Bank is working hard to sell the property, and offering it at a reasonable price (it's listed on the chamber website at $599,000).

"There's been a lot of interested parties, and I think it's just a question of time (before it's sold)," he predicted.

Supporters of local economic development have long bemoaned the emptiness of the two empty South Court Street sites, which they say hurts the whole uptown business scene.

"It's a big impact, for sure," said Wendy Jakmas, president of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. She said this impact ranges from the aesthetic -- having a big boarded-up building is "just not that attractive" -- to the loss of tax revenue, to the loss of employment. "It affects everything," she said. "It would be nice to get a little more vibrancy uptown."

Wharton argued that the empty storefronts even hurt Ohio University, perhaps the biggest driver of the local economy.

"Part of the recruiting allure of the university is not just the academics, but the charm of the town," he noted which he suggested is not enhanced by having boarded-up and empty storefronts in the heart of its business district.

Wharton acknowledged that uptown building owners often can get by on profits from rents for high-demand, upper-floor apartments, which may lessen the urgency to fill the ground-floor retail spaces.