Michael Conley, a Calloway County resident, had the winning bid for the property. He bid $9,200, and after a ten percent buyer premium, the actual price comes out to $10,120.
According to Conley, part of the reason he made the purchase was because he hates to see an old building going to waste.
"It's always interested me every time I've driven down Broadway and saw it boarded up and thought, well, there's an old building going to waste," he said.
West Kentucky Star spoke with Conley about his plans going forward.
Conley says he is excited about the purchase, but noted the other "hidden aspects" of purchasing such a building.
He said, "What's it going to take to revitalize the building? What's the zoning rules and laws on it? What other restrictions? And how many million dollars is it going to take to redo that thing?"
A previous quote to have the building remodeled was approximately $2.7 million. Conley says he was contacted by another group on Friday that says they had done some research into having the building remodeled, and claimed that it would cost approximately $4 million.
"It's got old plumbing, it's got old electrical, and now the roof has been let go so there's water damage throughout it. The vandals have certainly taken their toll on it." He continued, "It will take a lot of money to turn that back into a pristine building the way it used to be."
Conley says he doesn't have any plans for the building just yet, and will be doing some research before making any decisions.
The building, located at 1501 Broadway, was originally constructed in the late 1800s by the Illinois Central Railroad and served as one of three hospitals for the railroad.
The building burned in 1917, but was rebuilt and re-opened in 1919. Normal operations continued until the '50s, when it was purchased by George Katterjohn. At that point the building was leased to several local businesses, primarily being used as office space.
Tenants began leaving the building in early 2000 and it has been mostly vacant since. The building has been a landmark of the community for over 100 years.
On the Net:
Katterjohn Building on the Auction Block Today
