Park Place condemned

ASHLAND Despite the glowing orange of a condemned notice, all hope isn't lost on future development of Park Place, a prime real estate location on Central Avenue in Ashland.

The Daily Independent{/em} announced the purchase of the glass-paned building at 1701 Central Ave. in July 2021 after California-based oncologist Dr. Vikas Ghai utilized a holding company, VSI Assets, to buy the building at auction for $735,000.

Located just steps away from Winchester Avenue, Central Park and the Ashland branch of the Boyd County Public Library, the price point was practically a steal in terms of location alone.

In initial reports, the redevelopment plan included the building's transformation into a mix-used facility for both residential and commercial use, which would provide relief to the lack of housing in Ashland.

Three years later, the lot's courtyard presents abandon as steel and glass awnings cast shade on vegetation, now cracking its way through the bricked grounds.

A glance beyond the city's condemned notice at the front entrance reflects an obvious shell of once was, with loose or missing ceiling tiles and disregarded items and leaves littering cement floors.

Chris Pullem, Ashland's Economic Director, said the current condition of the building is not due to lack of care or correspondence from the out-of-state owner.

"We have out-of-town owners who really do just sit on (property) that don't correspond to us. It's hard to have them respond to code violations," Pullem said. "This is not one of those."

"We've had several deep-dive discussions on development with the building owner to see if he still intends to do a commercial-mixed use," Pullem said, adding future development depends on Ghai's number-crunching.

As far as development plans or building inspection permits, Pullem said Ghai hasn't formally submitted anything to the city for official review to his knowledge, but added the plan for a mix-used, high-density development would meet some of the city's needs.

"It would be relatively high density on that corner," Pullem said. "We have a huge need for housing in Ashland, not just low income, but on every level.

"We are encouraging any developer interested in investing in Ashland to include some housing solution," Pullem said, calling the housing shortage a "severe crisis."

Pullem said although the building sits empty and development is idled, "He (Ghai) has shown us some preliminary architecture drawings he had paid for about a year and a half ago."

"He is basically using that as his working plans, although nothing has been submitted to us," he said.

Pullem said from conversations with Ghai, the building owner "wants to see something happen in the city," adding if the numbers aren't there to undertake such a project for Ghai, he's willing to place it back on the auction site where he originally obtained it.

Like renovation projects on any scale, Pullem said the building isn't without issues, including the availability of parking suitable for both residents and customers.

"It's not the most energy-efficient property in Ashland that you'll find," Pullem said. "Engineering for that is the most costly of any development plan."

The issue leading to the condemned status includes the difficulties in securing the building before talks of construction even begin.

"It's a tough building to secure," Pullem said, referencing the buildings basement and ground floor levels as "sort of blind to passersby and that's where we see breaches."

With the condemned notice citing dangerous and unsafe conditions to prevent trespassers, Pullem said Ghai had responded to a request for securing the site.

"We asked him to take a few steps to help us sort of keep an eye on the place and keep people out of the building," Pullem said, which Ghai responded to with plans to erect security fencing.

Depending on the supply for fencing, Pullem said a secure perimeter should be erected within the coming weeks.

From the sidewalk level, signs of encampment aren't all that visible but a closer look through one of the many ground-level windows show a few indications of squatters, like discarded clothing, pop bottles and food wrappers.

"It's an ongoing thing some of the properties that the city has," Ashland Police Chief Todd Kelley said. "We're patrolling as best we can in between calls of service, but we're relying on property owners that they have somebody to oversee."

Kelley said he believes the condemnation was more to apply to trespassing, which the city's code enforcement ordinances cover.

"It's unfortunate, but to me, it's for our officers to keep people out of there," Kelley elaborated, adding the lack of utilities poses its own risks for those trespassing.

"When that's the case, we worry about people making illegal entry and starting fire to keep warm, especially since this time of year — it's starting to get cooler," Kelley said.

While no signs of an encampment were evident earlier this month, Kelley said there was a clean-up effort for sanitary concerns in areas not visible from the street.

"You saw basically how conditions were definitely not healthy," Kelley said. "When I got over there, it looked like maybe a couple had their spaces on the outside. ... Even somebody that's unfortunate, you can't live in that."

While Kelley said he couldn't speak for the actual structural integrity of the building posing as a hazard, the dangerous conditions more so applied to the trespassing concern.

"We're trying to patrol it along with many other areas in the city that have condemnation," Kelley said. "We can't be everywhere at once."

Kelley said the notice also serves as a reminder to folks who see people near or around the building, urging them to call police if they see such activity.

Pullem said he's still hopeful for Ghai's plan to come to fruition, though.

"We really hope Dr. Vikas can put together a project that works for the city and him," Pullem said. "We're pulling for him."