Commissioners consider COA move

St. Joseph County commissioners appear open to the idea of requesting the deed on a property being considered for senior housing and a new Commission On Aging headquarters.
In response to a report presented by COA director Tim Stoll during Wednesday’s executive committee meeting, commissioners agreed that pursuing the former Three Rivers Inn hotel would be a worthwhile endeavor. The matter will appear for consideration before commissioners during their board meeting Tuesday next week.
St. Joseph County Treasurer Judie Ratering said she foreclosed on the property April 1 after its $156,000 in taxes fell into arrears for tax years 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Stoll said the COA will tap into its $2 million fund balance to cover the back taxes as well as settle through tax year 2017. In all, it plans to allocate $200,000 to make the property’s tax situation satisfactory until 2018.
The next step Stoll recommends is putting out a request for proposals, seeking architect/designer bids.
He speculated the project would cost between $3 million and $3.5 million.
Stoll’s plan centers on what was a 99-unit hotel on West Broadway Street. It was built in the late 1960s and has been closed since November 2005. He said preliminary plans call for converting the existing rooms into double- and single-bedroom units to create 46 apartments that would qualify as affordable housing for seniors 60 years of age and older.