(July 21, 2016) Richard and Debbie Seaton, Snow Hill natives both, are the first takers of a program the town put forward late last year — renovate a building and, after fulfilling certain conditions, the town will turn over the structure to its occupants.
The Seatons own Toy Town, an antique and vintage toy shop in Berlin, and their lease is up in April. The Seatons said they don’t intend to renew, but will move the operation from the 4,800-square- foot location in Berlin to the more than 6,800 square feet available at the corner of Market and Washington Streets in Snow Hill.
The building, vacant for nearly 30 years, according to several sources in town, could be subdivided into a number of storefronts, but the Seatons said they would use the whole thing to expand their shop.
“I’ve got more than enough stuff in storage to fill that space,” Richard Seaton said. “It’s a difference, but it’s not that much.”
Seaton said he intends to keep the building open inside, rather than dividing it into stores as could easily be done with some new flooring.
However, the Seatons will have their hands full with a number of other improvements.
At last week’s council meeting, the town voted to declare the building surplus, contingent on a memorandum of understanding between the town and the Seatons.
This MOU establishes the requirement and a timeline of 5 years before the Seatons formally acquire the property.
First, according to the MOU, the Seatons will need to renovate the electric, plumbing, hardwood flooring, cement, carpet, front door, carriage door, stairway, heating, wallboards, trim and moldings of the former Outten Theater.
Then they will need to repair the façade according to Historic District guidelines, and these renovations need to be verified by a code enforcement officer designated by the town.
In lieu of taxes, the Seatons agree to pay a flat $100 per month rental fee during the MOU period. Mayor Charlie Dorman said the assessed tax bill for that structure is about $800 per year.
The Seatons also agreed to operate the Toy Town business, pay all utilities and maintenance costs as well as rehabilitate the existing upstairs portion for five years.
On the town’s side, the mayor and council agreed to repair the roof, cut the concrete for the plumbing work and provide town water and sewer as well as electric access to the back of the building, according to the MOU.
Should the Seatons fail to meet the conditions, town officials maintain but is not explicitly stated in the MOU, the property and any improvements will revert to the town.
“It’s the old-style building, the unique look of it, that we fell in love with,” Richard Seaton said. “We’re going to bring a lot of people to town. A lot of our customer base is repeat business.”
Not everyone was excited by the arrangement. At the council meeting, several citizens expressed concern about the way the deal had been handled, and the way information about the deal had been made public, which led to a heated exchange between critics including real estate agent and local business owner Gary Weber and Dorman. The two have publicly sparred before, and the argument ended when Weber and other citizens left the meeting early.
Both Dorman and Weber confirmed they have since hammered out their differences about the project.
The Seatons were not present at the meeting.
“I hope they prove me wrong but Berlin gets twice the rent and four or five times the business we do, and there’s a reason for that,” Weber said in an interview following the meeting. “It’s technically four buildings — we could have four shops.”
Weber expressed concern that the deal didn’t go through any of the town’s boards or committees before reaching the Town Council.
“It’s part and parcel of how the town operates. I think they’re good people, I just don’t think they’re using the resources they have,” he said. “We need population before things take off.”
Weber said he was working on bringing a children’s theater into the building in question.
“We’ve had a lot of verbal talks with people, but the Seatons are the first ones to come forward with a clear cut, documented proposal,” Michael Day, town economic development consultant, said.
Dorman maintains the town needs to start somewhere.
“This building has been more or less vacant for 30 years. Restaurants and breweries see all the money they would need to spend on the building and back away,” Dorman said. “These people came forward with a good business plan.”
The Seatons own Toy Town, an antique and vintage toy shop in Berlin, and their lease is up in April. The Seatons said they don’t intend to renew, but will move the operation from the 4,800-square- foot location in Berlin to the more than 6,800 square feet available at the corner of Market and Washington Streets in Snow Hill.
The building, vacant for nearly 30 years, according to several sources in town, could be subdivided into a number of storefronts, but the Seatons said they would use the whole thing to expand their shop.
“I’ve got more than enough stuff in storage to fill that space,” Richard Seaton said. “It’s a difference, but it’s not that much.”
Seaton said he intends to keep the building open inside, rather than dividing it into stores as could easily be done with some new flooring.
However, the Seatons will have their hands full with a number of other improvements.
At last week’s council meeting, the town voted to declare the building surplus, contingent on a memorandum of understanding between the town and the Seatons.
This MOU establishes the requirement and a timeline of 5 years before the Seatons formally acquire the property.
First, according to the MOU, the Seatons will need to renovate the electric, plumbing, hardwood flooring, cement, carpet, front door, carriage door, stairway, heating, wallboards, trim and moldings of the former Outten Theater.
Then they will need to repair the façade according to Historic District guidelines, and these renovations need to be verified by a code enforcement officer designated by the town.
In lieu of taxes, the Seatons agree to pay a flat $100 per month rental fee during the MOU period. Mayor Charlie Dorman said the assessed tax bill for that structure is about $800 per year.
The Seatons also agreed to operate the Toy Town business, pay all utilities and maintenance costs as well as rehabilitate the existing upstairs portion for five years.
On the town’s side, the mayor and council agreed to repair the roof, cut the concrete for the plumbing work and provide town water and sewer as well as electric access to the back of the building, according to the MOU.
Should the Seatons fail to meet the conditions, town officials maintain but is not explicitly stated in the MOU, the property and any improvements will revert to the town.
“It’s the old-style building, the unique look of it, that we fell in love with,” Richard Seaton said. “We’re going to bring a lot of people to town. A lot of our customer base is repeat business.”
Not everyone was excited by the arrangement. At the council meeting, several citizens expressed concern about the way the deal had been handled, and the way information about the deal had been made public, which led to a heated exchange between critics including real estate agent and local business owner Gary Weber and Dorman. The two have publicly sparred before, and the argument ended when Weber and other citizens left the meeting early.
Both Dorman and Weber confirmed they have since hammered out their differences about the project.
The Seatons were not present at the meeting.
“I hope they prove me wrong but Berlin gets twice the rent and four or five times the business we do, and there’s a reason for that,” Weber said in an interview following the meeting. “It’s technically four buildings — we could have four shops.”
Weber expressed concern that the deal didn’t go through any of the town’s boards or committees before reaching the Town Council.
“It’s part and parcel of how the town operates. I think they’re good people, I just don’t think they’re using the resources they have,” he said. “We need population before things take off.”
Weber said he was working on bringing a children’s theater into the building in question.
“We’ve had a lot of verbal talks with people, but the Seatons are the first ones to come forward with a clear cut, documented proposal,” Michael Day, town economic development consultant, said.
Dorman maintains the town needs to start somewhere.
“This building has been more or less vacant for 30 years. Restaurants and breweries see all the money they would need to spend on the building and back away,” Dorman said. “These people came forward with a good business plan.”