Developer balks at $72,000 appraisal of vacant city-owned building in historic Belleville
Developer and real-estate agent Kathy Mordini told members of a Belleville City Council committee on Wednesday that there is “no way” a deteriorating vacant property that the city owns in downtown Belleville would sell for $72,000 on the open market.
Yet that was the figure submitted by a private appraiser that the city hired to value an 1887 brick storefront and adjoining lot on Mascoutah Avenue. Mordini and her daughter, Kinsey, want to buy the building and convert it into an event space and small-business incubator.
“It’s comparable to a lot of the properties I’ve sold for the historical society,” Mordini said. “When they’re in this condition, they’re selling more in the $20,000 to $30,000 range, if you’re lucky.”
Some members of the Economic Development and Annexation Committee seemed frustrated with the months-long process of negotiating a development agreement that has included criticism of city officials and controversy among neighborhood residents.
Under the currently proposed agreement, the Mordinis would pay a discounted price of $48,816 for the 2,400-square-foot, two-story building and lot. That’s based on a tax-break formula that the committee recently adopted to encourage renovation of vacant and derelict buildings.
Mordini argued that $48,816 is still too high, considering that she and her daughter will need to invest more than $200,000 in improvements due to material costs and interest rates that have increased since they first submitted their proposal early last year.
“This building doesn’t have a lick of electrical, plumbing or (heating, ventilation and air conditioning),” said Mordini, who has renovated other historic buildings in Belleville. “It’s a brick shell with a roof.”
Mordini told committee members that appraisals can be “manipulated” and that the company that appraised the building at 127 Mascoutah Ave. and vacant lot at 123 incorrectly used functioning buildings with tenants as “comparable” properties. The storefront has been vacant for 27 years.
Committee members push back
Mordini suggested that the city submit a “rebuttal” to the appraiser or otherwise adjust and lower the property’s value. That prompted push-back from committee members Chris Rothweiler, alderman for Ward 6, and Bryan Whitaker, alderman for Ward 1.
Rothweiler noted that the figure arrived at by the private appraiser was only about $3,000 higher than a value based on St. Clair County’s assessment. Mordini had asked for a private appraisal, partly because one from a decade ago valued the property at about $24,000.
Whitaker opposed any action designed to come up with a figure that was more acceptable to Mordini and said the city had done its “due diligence” by paying for a private appraisal at her request.
“At some point, we have to stop this nonsense, and we’re either going to move forward or we’re going to stop,” Whitaker said. “I am not in favor of another appraisal, another set of figures.”
Committee member Jamie Eros, alderwoman for Ward 2, suggested allowing Mordini to pay for her own appraisal before making a decision on whether to recommend the development agreement to the full city council. Others agreed, except for Whitaker.
Mordini has long maintained that Economic Development, Planning and Zoning Department staff indicated at the beginning of the proposal process that the city might be willing to sell her the Mascoutah Avenue building for $1 just to get it occupied and renovated.
That figure has gone from $1 to $1,000 to $24,000 and now $48,000, Mordini told committee members. Her statement prompted Mayor Patty Gregory, who attended the meeting on Wednesday, to ask that the minutes include her objection.
Gregory recalled talking to Mordini after her administration created its infill program, which seeks to encourage development of city-owned vacant lots by selling them for $1 to developers who invest in plans approved by the Economic Development and Annexation Committee.
“You came to me right after that,” Gregory said. “Eric Schauster (assistant director of economic development, planning and zoning) was with us. ... There was no promise of anything made, for $1 or $1,000.”
Second appraisal in the works
On Thursday, Mordini said she and her daughter have contacted their bank about doing another appraisal in an effort to “get on the same page” with the city and try to move forward with the project, Abend Street Incubator & Event Space, also known as Abend Street Market.
Mordini acknowledged that she never had a formal agreement to buy the Mascoutah Avenue building for $1 but insisted that Schauster had made it seem like a possibility based on the fact that the city had done it with other derelict buildings in the past.
“I think the mayor has a skewed view of what her role is in regards to growth and economic development,” Mordini said. “People are wanting to invest their money in the community, but the stifling (of business interests by the Gregory administration) is off the chart.”
The 2,400-square-foot, two-story storefront at 127 Mascoutah Ave. was built as a saloon in 1887. It’s considered historically significant but in a deteriorated state after sitting vacant for 27 years.
St. Clair County acquired the property for back taxes, according to the county trustee’s office. The city of Belleville bought the vacant lot at 123 Mascoutah Ave. for $3,257 in 2009 and the building for $23,000 in 2010. A former owner’s plan to open a microbrewery had fallen through.
The Kern family donated money to buy the property. Officials essentially turned the building over to the Gustave Koerner House Restoration Committee. Members planned to renovate it and create a welcome center for the historic site, but they couldn’t find the funding.
The city posted a request for proposals for the Mascoutah Avenue property on April 14. The Mordinis submitted the only proposal, outlining their plan to host cooking classes, bike rides, parties, showers and other events, as well as outdoor markets where young entrepreneurs could sell their products.
The Economic Development and Annexation Committee recommended the project to Belleville City Council in May. Aldermen tabled it after some residents of Old Belleville Historic District voiced opposition, arguing that noise and traffic could disrupt the neighborhood and that homeless people might seek shelter in market kiosks.
Other residents supported the project, noting that the building had been vacant since its last tenant, a hair salon, moved out in 1996, and its dilapidated appearance made it an eyesore.
Some people complained that the first project-proposal process was rushed. Aldermen asked city staff to post a second request for proposals in hopes of getting other ideas. But after a six-week submission period, the Mordinis were again the only developers to formally respond.
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 2:10 PM.
