The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Eagles Building on the market
Palace board asking $99,900 for four-story structure
The Eagles Building at 575 Broadway is up for sale.
The Lorain Palace Civic Center board of directors has listed the building for sale for $99,900.
“It’s an actually awesome building, and it’s a shame it is in the state that it’s in,” said board President Jeff Neal.
Taking care of one old building – the Palace Theater – is difficult, Neal said. Maintaining two old buildings has been nearly impossible for the Palace board because money is limited, he said.
“We just can’t take care of it” like the building deserves, Neal said.
“We’re on a limited budget as it is, and to try to maintain two old buildings, we just can’t do it.”
Gentile Real Estate LLC is the listing real estate agent.
“Own a piece of historic Lorain,” said the building ad
“It’s an actually awesome building, and it’s a shame it is in the state that it’s in.” — Jeff Neal, Lorain Palace Civic Center board president
posted online through howardhanna.com. “The Eagles Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. This concrete frame building is perfect for your business or for hosting private events.”
The advertisement includes 11 photos, with 10 interior pictures showing various rooms within the four-story building, which is about 30,000 square feet in size.
The Lorain County Auditor’s Office estimates the building and land value at $282,270.
That translates to a yearly property tax bill of $9,514, according to auditor’s records.
The Palace Theater is a nonprofit organization and does not pay taxes on the performance space, Neal said.
However, it is a common misperception that the entire structure and the Eagles Building totally are exempt from property taxes, he said.
The organization must pay property taxes on the rental spaces in the Palace building and on the Eagles Building if it is not in use for a nonprofit purpose, Neal said.
In October 2008, Eagles building owners Lew Strnad and Gloria Gonzales transferred the structure to the city of Lorain.
The same day, the city then transferred ownership to the Lorain Civic Center Committee Inc., according to Lorain County Auditor’s records.
Plans called for an arts complex with a possible connector built over the alley that separates the buildings.
Right now, the roof is the major issue affecting the quality of the Eagles Building, Neal said.
It needs work, but the roof is repairable and the building has not deteriorated to a point where it is unusable, he said.
The building could be redeveloped, but the Palace has a volunteer board whose members also have other jobs and activities around Lorain, so the board does not have time to devote to that redevelopment, Neal said.
It is possible the Eagles Building could become residential space, particularly on the upper floors, he said.
Parking is problematic because the building occupies its entire lot, so there is no off-street parking on the parcel of land that the building sits on, Neal said.
He suggested a new owner could approach the Lorain Port Authority for a possible deal for parking
because the Port owns Black River Landing behind the Eagles Building.
This week, the “Eagles Nest” sign was removed from the Broadway façade of the building.
Although it was made to look like an antique, Strnad added the sign to the front and it was not a historic part of the structure, Neal said.
This year, Lorain City Council approved a deal by which the Palace would transfer the building to the FireFish Festival, the downtown Lorain arts event that started in 2015.
However, the Palace board and FireFish could not complete that deal due to contract conditions.
For information about the Eagles Building, call 440212-7711.
The building could be redeveloped, but the Palace has a volunteer board whose members also have other jobs and activities around Lorain, so the board does not have time to devote to that redevelopment, Neal said.