Troy seeks purpose for former annex
The former City Hall Annex property in Troy -- with four buildings on a 15,625 sq ft lot -- now sits empty, and the city has to decide what to do with it. (Ben Kibbey/The Western News)
With the departure of the Environmental Protection Agency and their contracted agencies, the City of Troy is now left with almost 16,000 square feet of property and four buildings and no one to rent it.
For over a decade, the former City Hall Annex had been home to Techlaw, a quality assurance firm working with the EPA during the asbestos cleanup.
The loss of that lease, which was held by CDM Smith — another agency contracted to the EPA — could be a significant financial hit for the city.
City Clerk/Treasurer Tracy Rebo said that the city was paid $18,000 annually in rent for the property. However, that also included all the utilities for the property, which the city provided at no additional charge.
During the Nov. 21 regular meeting of the council, Clint Taylor, manager of the Troy Power and Light Department, suggested that the best thing may be to try to sell the property if a renter can’t be found.
“Then we can use that money to put back into the coffers of the city,” he said.
Troy Mayor Dallas Carr said that he would like to see the city attempt to rent the space.
Carr said that there may be a need to replace carpet and make a few other improvements such as to the heating, though the property was left in good condition after Techlaw left.
Carr also noted that the property was certified as clean of any contamination before Techlaw — which had used the property for preparing samples for shipment — departed.
Taylor said that two of the buildings are on one electric meter, and the other two are off of a separate meter, so it could be possible to rent the buildings to more than one tenant.
The buildings include two sheds — which Taylor said had once sheltered the city’s large equipment — and an office building that previously served as the city’s courtroom and council chambers.
One structure, which had originally been an insulated shed-style building, was converted by Techlaw to use as a lab. Taylor referred to it as a “building within a building.”
The existing structure was left in place, and the space for the lab — which has two large rooms separated by a wall down the middle of the building — was built inside of it.
The entire compound, which sits across Third Street from the Kootenai Senior Center, is surrounded by a fence.