Jasper to seek proposals for former library property

The City of Jasper will be seeking proposals for the development and use of the former Jasper Public Library property.

With the library permanently closed at that location, the building, which is owned by the city and was leased to the library in 1951, will revert back to the city.

The property is set to be transferred to the Jasper Redevelopment Commission. “The city is now in the process of determining what the best use of the property is,” City Attorney Renee Kabrick told the commission, adding that since it is being considered as a redevelopment project, the redevelopment commission would be the best board to oversee the process.

The move also allows more flexibility for the disposition of the property said Kabrick.

The commission approved developing the request for proposal package.

There have been some suggestions made for the building, but according to Kabrick, the request for proposal package will seek firms or developers with plans to identify a use for and then develop the whole block at 1116 Main Street.

Also during the Redevelop Commission Meeting, Mayor Dean Vonderheide announced a bit of good news regarding what many residents consider an eyesore. The gray, three-level, shuttered building at the intersection of Hoffman Road and U.S. 231 — commonly referred to as the ‘Y’ — which is owned by CVS has a potential buyer.

CVS, or Hooks SuperRX Inc., has owned the former Ditto Sales property since 2006.

A purchase agreement between CVS and the purchaser is in the process of being completed. The mayor did not give any further details regarding the buyer.

The mayor also informed the council that as the county prepares plans to renovate the county courthouse as part of the development of the new judicial campus, he is in talks with them to coordinate the needs of the city as it plans on redeveloping and renovating the downtown square. He mentioned adding public restrooms that would be accessible during the many events held in the Square as well as other ways to incorporate the building into the future needs of the downtown area.