Canton Inks New Agreement To Sell Historic Buildings

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CANTON, GA -- Months after a legal snafu that forced Canton to apply the brakes to an agreement to sell two historic buildings, it appears the city may have worked out a solution.

The city on Thursday approved an agreement with HIP Acquisitions LLC to sell the former Canton Textile Offices and Canton Grammar School for $600,000.

Both buildings were formerly owned by the Cherokee County Board of Education, but the city of Canton obtained ownership of the property in a land swap deal struck in 2015.

Thursday's agreement was made following an executive session held during a Downtown Development Authority called meeting.

Mayor Gene Hobgood said closing could take place May 31, or sooner if agreed to by the parties.

"We’re going to keep our fingers crossed on this one," he said.

The City Council approved a mostly similar agreement in November 2015 with the same company to purchase the buildings at the same price tag. However, Hobgood said the city received notice from someone stating they had an easement on the property in question.

In an effort to sort that out, Hobgood said the city allowed the time frame to close on the property to expire so they could hash out any details. One of those details included abandoning a portion of Archer Street, which runs through the four-acre property. That action took place at the March 17 City Council meeting.

Other stipulations outlined in the agreement: a Superior Court judge must sign an order for a quiet title action, the developer must reserve 125 parking spaces for public use and the buildings must remain standing.

Hobgood said the buildings' interiors can be renovated, but the structures cannot be demolished.

The Cherokee County School District utilized the old textile mill offices as its main central offices operations. Dubbed Building A by the school district, the basement level of the two-floor facility was closed several years ago for health, structural and safety concerns.

"That building is in reasonably good shape, so to put something there is not going to take all that much," Hobgood said.

Building B was renovated more than 30 years ago for office use with no preservation of historic details and was closed seven years ago due to similar, the school district has previously said.

Both buildings were recommended for demolition by former Cherokee Schools Superintendent Dr. Frank Petruzielo, so Canton put forth the land swap deal in a bid to save the buildings.

This land swap deal approved last year included the city swapping 19.78 acres of land located along Bluffs Parkway in exchange for the property that’s home to the historic buildings.

Under that deal, Canton retained about 4.19 acres that would be used as the future site for a fire station. Additionally, the school district would construct a shared access drive to be used by the city in relation to the fire station as well as the district for its operations.

The school district is using the Bluffs property to build a new administrative complex for its operations.

Hobgood said the developer has tossed around ideas such as bringing a mixed-use development into the central business district.

The residential components could include fee-simple town homes, single family residential or possibly apartments. A restaurant would be the most likely use for the old textile mill office building, he added.

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