The Dalton City Council is looking once again to sell the historic railroad depot at 110 Depot St. City Administrator Jason Parker says the request for proposals should be released next week.
The council closed the building, which formerly housed the Dalton Depot & Trackside Tavern restaurant, in November of 2015, citing conditions that “posed potential health hazards to the public,” including mold. The building has remained empty since.
The city owns the building. The City Council put the building up for bids in 2017 but did not get any offers.
Jeremiah Consulting, a Kennesaw-based firm which renovates historic properties and converts them into “third places,” places separate from home or work such as cafes, restaurants and parks, expressed an interest in the building.
City officials began talks with Jeremiah but company officials had concerns about the historic conservation easement any new owner must sign. The easement will guarantee that the original parts of the building remain essentially unchanged. That easement originally said that the mayor and council would determine if the terms of the easement were being met. At Jeremiah's suggestion, the language was changed so that the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation will be the organization that will determine whether any changes to the building conform with the easement.
Mayor Dennis Mock says after that, negotiations started to slow.
"We were told that this was so far away from their other properties and they were concerned about spreading themselves too thin," he said. "They said they wanted to wait until they had a management team they could put in place up here."
Jeremiah partner Dale Hughes did not immediately return a telephone message left at his office on Wednesday.
Mock says he believes the city can attract bidders for the property this time.
"We've learned more about historic buildings and how to approach these things," he said. "Plus, I think there's more going on downtown, and that will make it more attractive to potential bidders."
Several new restaurants have opened downtown in the past two years, and Burr Park is set to open in the middle of downtown on May 19. The park has a performance stage that will be able to host concerts and other events.
John Davis, a member of the board of the Downtown Dalton Development Authority and the co-chair of the Believe Greater Dalton Downtown Committee, says he would like to see a business occupy the depot once again. Believe Greater Dalton is a community-led effort to revitalize Dalton and Whitfield County.
"Getting people downtown is important, and the depot is very much a part of downtown," Davis said. "It was a very thriving part of downtown for a long time, and we'd love to see it get back to that."
Council members will be looking for the new tenants to pay for the repairs needed at the building. After inspecting the building in 2016, Hughes said his “gut feeling” was that it would cost $600,000 to $1 million to fix the depot.
"I think we can attract someone there as long as there aren't so many restrictions on them that it doesn't make it feasible," Davis said. "I know the mayor and council don't want to put more money into the building, but we may have to offer some sort of incentives."
Davis agreed with the mayor that downtown's improved business atmosphere will make the depot more attractive than it was when it was first put out for bids.
"We have more businesses that are open later, open on Sundays. There are more things going on downtown, more people coming downtown," he said.
Some people shopping downtown said they'd like to see someone take the building over and make something of it.
"It was a shame when they closed the Depot. I'd like to see another restaurant there," said Sarah Clarke.
Tom Anthony agreed.
"But I don't think the taxpayers should put more money into it. Give it away if you have to," he said.
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