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ASHLAND — A reader recently asked us for an update on the former Hess & Clark site when he asked “what has happened to the big plans” there.
As a refresher, the City of Ashland acquired the property that used to house the Hess and Clark building — a three-story complex that used to take up an entire block along Orange Street — in 2019.
The city then agreed to sell the property to Abacus Industrial Development for $100 in exchange for the removal of the decaying structure, a cost estimated at $1.4 million for the new property owner.
Demolition of the decaying structure wrapped in late 2021.
Initially, the developer — an Arizona man named John Pacheco — planned to build a data center on the property. Those plans changed, and now Pacheco plans to build a seven-story apartment building named the “Parkview Apartments” with 150-300 units that will overlook the planned Urban Meadow just south of the land.
As of Aug. 10, there isn’t anything “new and juicy” about the project, said Ashland Mayor Matt Miller.
“The last I heard, the last communication I had with the property owner, is that they were soliciting additional investors in the project and they were working with a firm out of Columbus,” Miller said.
Pacheco has repeatedly declined to comment on the project.
The project is one of several ongoing developments in what city officials have dubbed the Pump House District.
Most recently, in early July, Ashland City Council sold 19 parcels in the area to Ashland Urban LLC for $400,000.
State business filings show Brent Wrightsel, of Columbus-based Vision Development Inc., as Ashland Urban LLC’s owner.
The site will enclose the “urban meadow” that is planned in the 14-acre green space between Orange and Union streets, bordered on the south by Fourth Street.
Miller has said Wrightsel wants to build up to 150 apartment units and other commercial spaces such as restaurants and shops — all surrounding the urban meadow that will feature ultra-modern art, concrete walking pads, a steel tree and other outdoor features.
Vision Development, according to its website, is a development firm with hotels, mixed-use properties, warehouses, apartments, condos and mid-rise buildings in its portfolio.
Council’s purchase agreement with Ashland Urban states construction must begin within a year and complete the project within three.
Efforts to reach Vision Development were unsuccessful.
Miller said he also continues to court two different developers on the possible acquisition of the Pump House building, which is currently owned by the Ashland County Board of Commissioners.
“There is a developer in New York and one in Columbus. Both have interest in the building,” Miller said.
Miller has not said whether developers plan to demolish and build something new on the property or if they hope to rehabilitate the century-old structure.
As of May, commissioners have spent nearly $300,000 on the vacant building bought in September 2020, including expenses such as architectural services, repairs to the roof, utilities and insurance.
If it’s to tall that will effect how 719 can see anything but building in its view. Don’t think I would want to have my view blocked by a monstrosity.