By Lucky Kidd
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council Tuesday evening voted to proceed with demolition of the Atrium Hotel and Convention Center at 1400 North Lorraine. The unanimous vote to move forward came after the owner of the property (which closed in December 2019) made what Vice Mayor Stacy Goss called an 11th hour bid by owner Josiah Joseph to allow him time to proceed with demolishing it on his own.
At the open of the discussion on this item, the Council was informed the outstanding invoices for work city crews have done to secure the property have been assessed against it, which puts them on the property taxes.
Joseph repeated comments made to the council on Sept. 17, that the 30-day time frame to repair or demolish the property was too short for him to do anything. At that meeting Joseph presented a plan for the property that would have converted the former Convention Center into retail space and replaced the hotel part with a storage facility.
Joseph told the Council staff had indicated to him his plan might have merit. Based on bids received for demolition it was determined the cost to do so would not be as great, and with that staff suggested the required bond could be reduced from $2 million to $999,999. However, that would be conditioned on removal of all structures on the property along with all concrete, footings, foundations and signage and other requirements.
Joseph presented to the Council a letter from a bank which agreed to issue him a $1 million “CD loan” which he said would meet the city’s bond requirements, which the Council was willing to accept. He also said he could have the property cleaned up by the end of 2024, and if it wasn’t he would deed the property over to the city free and clear.
Mayor Greg Fast and Council member Scott Meggers both were skeptical of the concept Joseph presented regarding the bond, noting the lien the bank would retain on those funds. Meggers said had Joseph shown up with the million dollars in cash they might have something to talk about.
As far as how the city is going to front the demolition cost, Finance Director Angela Richard and City Manager Enrique Villegas said there are three different ways that cost can be covered, including the funds that were at one point allocated to a street project for this year which was not done.
The only slight sign of willingness to at least take another look came from Councilman Steven Garza, who said he would like to hear from taxpayers one more time for their thoughts on this. Mayor Fast said in response many taxpayers he’s heard from want the city to move on demolition now.
Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer addressed the Council from a safety standpoint, stating somebody is going to get killed in that building if it remains up, citing the risks to his firefighters, police, and other city employees. This risk will become greater as colder temperatures set in over the next few months.
Prior to the vote the Council heard from Jackie Long, who lives west of the Atrium, who questioned why Joseph has not made any attempts to maintain the property and stating nobody should be inside of it, be it emergency responders or Joseph’s own employees, who were on site over the weekend removing items from the property.
The bids for demolition are now being reviewed, after which they will come to the Council for action.
