Friday, April 23, 2004
Ownership of the office building is the reason Squire stopped paying rent.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A prominent Columbus lawyer says he will settle his debts with the city and soon plans to buy the city-owned Wick Building downtown.
Percy Squire, a Youngstown native, said Thursday he will pay the city about $90,000 the first week in June to cover what he owes for back rent and income taxes related to the building.
Squire said he is having the building appraised and hopes to buy it soon after paying the city.
A judge in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court upheld a magistrate's decision Wednesday concerning Squire's company, Esq. Communications Inc. The order says the company must pay the city $29,303 in back rent on the Wick dating to 2001. The company has radio station studios in the building.
The city also has a pending request in common pleas court seeking $9,600 the company owes for $1,200 monthly rent between May and December of last year.
But Squire said the court items are a formality.
Said he'll pay
He said he agreed in February to pay in June what he owes the city -- all back rent plus income tax he failed to turn over -- so he can buy the building.
"We're going to wipe the slate clean," he said.
Ownership of the office building, at Federal Plaza West and Phelps Street adjacent to the Phar-Mor Centre, is the reason Squire stopped paying rent.
The city refused his $75,000 purchase offer several years ago for the building, so he stopped paying rent. Squire contended he only rented the space because he expected to buy the building. There was no written agreement outlining the arrangement, however.
The city didn't evict Squire's company because the dispute belonged in court, Mayor George M. McKelvey said.
Squire said he refinanced his company earlier this year and is prepared to buy the building. That includes investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace the elevators.
Making that investment to keep the 13-story, vintage 1910 office building viable is key to any sale, McKelvey added.
Always for sale
The building, donated by the Burdman family to the city in 1994, always has been for sale for the right price, he said. But nobody has been willing to make the necessary investment, he said.
The city sought proposals a year ago and received one. But that plan, centered on a members-only bar, never developed.
The Wick's appraised value has been in the $1.1 million range, but the city has said it would be willing to sell for less. The Mahoning County auditor lists the building's market value at $779,000 for tax purposes.
McKelvey said he hopes a deal comes together but will reserve judgment considering the history of the issue.
"I'll believe it when I see it. When I see it, I'll be happy," he said.
rgsmith@vindy.com