Algood Considering Renting Out Old City Hall Building

Algood city officials are considering sectioning off and renting out the old city hall building.

City Administrator Keith Morrison said several people have contacted him about potential uses for the facility.

“I don’t want to give away any businesses, but we’ve had several that have called for different areas,” Morrison said. “There’s several that are interested in using the facility and there’s even been some churches calling about possibly renting out a section. There’s been all kinds of different interest. We keep getting calls from people asking if we’re going to rent that space. I think if we set the rent just right and do an establishment period, I think that’s going to draw some more in.”

The option was presented before Algood City Council during Monday evening’s work session. Morrison said the city could create a business incubator with the facility and use the establishment period to get them off the ground.

“Maybe at the end of however many months you all set, we’ll start charging ‘this much’ for rent,” Morrison said. “We’ll give them a few months to get in, remodel, then after so many months or a year, we then go up to say $300 a month. Then after two years, we can go up to $400 a month. By the end of year three or year four, we’re up to $500 or whatever the market rate is.”

Council members agreed that the possibility of a business incubator could lead to more growth in downtown Algood. An appraisal on the city’s three portions of the facility came in at a total value of around $127,000.

Morrison noted the city could still decide to sell the spaces down the road if renting doesn’t turn into a feasible option later.

Council will consider their options during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m.