In Our View: Park Place or Boardwalk

Those of us who've played the board game Monopoly understand the most expensive piece of real estate is Boardwalk and second is Park Place.

Ashland had to condemn the Park Place office building at 17th and Central. Unfortunately, the building has fallen into disrepair and officials rightfully feared it may attract those seeking shelter to break in the building, and to start a fire for heat that could lead to a disaster.

The large office building was constructed in the 1970s by Kentucky Power to be its corporate headquarters. At the time of construction, it was a showpiece for Ashland — tens of thousands of square feet under roof with plenty of parking adjacent to Central Park.

As is too often the case, absentee property owners just abandon their property rather than come into the city's building code compliance. That doesn't seem to be the case here. The owner is a California doctor who buys properties by watching real estate that is sold due to tax liens.

At one point during the discussion of building the new $4.3 million police station, city leaders considered buying the Park Place building and consolidating the police department and the city building under one location of the Park Place building.

The last thing the city needs is an empty building with so much potential. Ashland Economic Development Director Chris Pullem is right in his assessment that the building is not energy-efficient. Obviously, any new buyer would factor that into consideration prior to purchasing the building.

We think this building and adjacent properties have good potential. We hope a full-court press by local leaders to market this building is essential.

If necessary, the owner will construct a fence around the property to keep vagrants away. Good. However, it may present an additional marketing challenge for any potential buyer. We're hopeful a strong marketing strategy by the Chamber of Commerce, the city and the current owner with a quality video presentation will result in the building not being vacant for long.

Park Place is too big to ignore. Ashland doesn't have a Boardwalk, but it has a Park Place that offers potential to a likely buyer at a reasonable price.