Valerie MyersErie Times-News
Millcreek Township will be the new owner of some well-known businesses on West Eighth Street.
The township's new Millcreek Township General Authority voted Monday to buy the former Bel-Aire Hotel and the former Joe Root's Grill as well as the Sandbar Draft House & Grille and Manor Motel. Total price tag: $7.17 million, to be paid from proceeds from the 2015 sale of the Millcreek Township Water Authority.
The township doesn't plan to operate the businesses. The buildings will be demolished for future development in line with the township's Presque Isle Gateway District plan.
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"We need to do something about the blight that is beginning to take hold of that area," Millcreek Township Supervisor Kim Clear said. Millcreek Supervisors Clear, Jim Bock and Dan Ouellet serve on the new Millcreek Township General Authority along with township residents Dave Zimmer and Cheryl Mitchell.
"Rather than allowing that blight to exponentially grow, we feel it is in Millcreek's best long-term interest to (purchase) the properties so that a developer can come in and reignite the area," Clear said.
The township's Embrace Millcreek comprehensive plan, adopted in 2018, and Presque Isle Gateway District regulations adopted last year envision a walkable, village-type neighborhood of apartments, shops, restaurants and services along West Eighth Street near Peninsula Drive.
The plans encourage mixed-use commercial and residential buildings constructed close to the sidewalk with parking in the rear.
The property acquisitions approved Monday provide a unique opportunity for the township to implement those plans, Oeullet said.
"It fits into our vision of how Eighth Street can be transformed," he said.
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New stores, residences, restaurants and services on West Eighth Street will give visitors and residents more reason to shop, dine and otherwise enjoy the area, Clear said.
"Presque Isle gets more than four million visitors a year, more than Yellowstone National Park," Clear said. "People in Millcreek know what a jewel we have in Presque Isle, but it's a shame that visitors come to the park and then leave."
Clear, Ouellet, Zimmer and Mitchell voted in favor of the property acquisitions. Bock voted against them.
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"I think everybody would love to see the area revitalized with restaurants, retail and possibly townhomes," Bock said. "But I think we are way, way, way overspending on the properties. Another concern is that there is no concrete plan for them after demolition."
About the properties
Purchase agreements approved by the Millcreek Township General Authority on Monday are for:
- The Bel-Aire Hotel, at 2800 W. Eighth St., closed in May 2022. It was purchased for $468,306 by the hotel's lender, HDDA LLC, of New York City, in a sheriff's sale in November. HDDA bought the property after foreclosing on the hotel's more than $9 million in unpaid loans. The Millcreek Township General Authority will pay $4 million for the property.
- Joe Root's Grill, at 2832 West Eighth Street, closed in September 2019. It was sold to Roots West LLC for $575,00 in April 2021, according to Erie County property records. The township will pay $1.7 million for the property and the former Grasshopper Boutique at 2818 W. Eighth Street. The Grasshopper building is owned by MGD and Associates.
- Sandbar Draft House & Grille, at 2836 W. Eighth St., will be bought from owner Gary Miller for $962,500.
- Manor Motel, at 2819 W. Eighth St., will be purchased from owner Barge Realty for $510,000. Motel residents will be given time to relocate before the sale closes.
Here's where the money will come from
Proceeds of the December 2015 sale of the Millcreek Township Water Authority to Erie Water Works will pay for the properties. The city water system bought the former Millcreek Township Water Authority for a lump sum payment of $12 million plus $1 million each year for 10 years.
The township invested the money to fund future capital projects.
"That money hasn't been touched and is our rainy day fund," Bock said. "To use half of it for these properties doesn't make sense to me."
Money to demolish the buildings will come from the Erie County Land Bank. The Land Bank, by an agreement with the township, will provide $250,000 for the work each year for four years. The township will submit individual demolition costs to the Land Bank to receive the money.
Millcreek Township General Authority approved the agreement Monday.
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A $3 million grant awarded for the Presque Isle Gateway District in October will not fund the property acquisition or demolition costs.
The grant from the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program will pay to replace overhead utility lines with underground conduits. The grant will also pay for other West Eighth Street improvements, including curbs, sidewalks and decorative lighting.
What is the Millcreek Township Municipal Authority?
Township supervisors created the Millcreek Township General Authority in October to kick start redevelopment along West Eighth Street. The authority met for the first time in November.
Municipal authorities can be created to operate or finance public works projects for a municipality, by permission of the Pennsylvania Municipality Authorities Act of 1935.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
