ASHLAND – Five donors who had previously chosen to remain anonymous have come forward to identify themselves as the funders of the Ashland County Land Reutilization Corporation’s project at 118 W. Main St.
The donors are local businessmen Bill Chandler of Chandler Systems, Scott Donley of Donley Ford and Good Deed Entertainment, Dave Wurster of Aspen Management (and formerly BookMasters) and Bob Archer of Kent Sporting Goods; as well as The Norma June Foundation, which was created by Scott Conery in memory of Conery’s mother and mother-in-law.
Altogether, the donors gave the land bank $115,000 to cover the cost of purchasing the multi-unit apartment complex at 118 W. Fourth St. The complex is set to be demolished using grant funds.
Land Bank president Denny Bittle said Friday he and the donors decided to release the names after community members began questioning the land bank’s transparency and the donors’ motives. Bittle said land bank leaders don’t want the public to have the perception that the quasi-government entity is doing anything underhanded to serve the interests of individuals.
“I think some people in the community have gotten the wrong idea that we’re trying to be secretive,” Bittle said. “These are just guys like me who are trying to do what’s right for the community, and not everybody wants their name in lights as they help the community. They’re not looking for a pat on the back.”
Chandler reiterated a that sentiment.
“There is no motive for any of us,” Chandler said. “All of us have been very fortunate and have had great love of Ashland. We just want to be able to give back, and we do that all the time anyways through every organization we fund and help with. This is just another area that we feel is a great opportunity to give back.”
Chandler said the donors believe the Fourth Street corridor has potential to become a valuable asset for the community as another business district. Last fall, Chandler purchased the former Ashland Middle School site at auction for $165,000.
Another factor the group considered, Chandler said, was the apartment complex’s reputation for “bad activity” and its close proximity to two churches and a school.
Bittle repeatedly has referred to the property as “a drug house,” and Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said the property has been the site of numerous drug-related calls to the Ashland Police Department in recent years.
After hearing about the property’s reputation, Chandler said, the group contacted the property owner, who indicated he could not afford to fix up the property and did not believe it was in good enough condition to be worth fixing.
“I don’t want to quote the owner too much, but he seemed like he was in a position where he was ready to make it go away,” Chandler said.
Asked how the donors and seller arrived at the $115,000 sale price, Chandler said the figure was what the seller said was the minimum they could take and get the property released from encumbrances.
The seller, Ashland Properties Ltd., purchased the property for $180,000 in 1998,according to the Ashland County Auditor’s records. Ashland Properties is registered to Karin Perry, according to a business filing with the Ohio Secretary of State.
Since news of the apartment complex’s purchase broke, some community members have questioned whether the land bank should be in the business of buying occupied properties and displacing tenants.
Seven of the 14 displaced residents were clients of of Appleseed Community Mental Health Center, director Jerry Strausbaugh said at an Ashland County Homeless Coalition meeting in February.
In response, Chandler said, the property has had “years of Band-Aids, and no Band-Aids and leaky pipes and mold” and is in “just a despicable condition that I don’t know why anyone would want to live in.”
Chandler said he is bothered by the fact that the government would provide funding for people in need of housing assistance to live in such an environment, and he hopes former residents have found better places to live.
“Honestly, we didn’t even contemplate that there was a negative side to this, when you look at the squalor,” Chandler said. “It wasn’t even contemplated that anyone would not perceive it as positive.”
The same group of five donors is also working on other projects that cannot yet be disclosed, Chandler said.
“We have a lot of things going on in the background. We are pretty excited about all the positive things that are going on in Ashland, and we want to be in a position to support much more,” he said. “I hope soon we can talk about some of the other things we’re working on.”
Chandler said he doesn’t want to come across as overly secretive, but he also doesn’t want to jeopardize the group’s ability to help move the community forward.
“All in all, with the wonderful things going on in our city and county leadership and the wonderful things that are happening in the community, we just want to help,” he said.
