No takers for Sidebar
Single bid for county building too low

Only one bidder submitted a proposal to purchase the
8,000-square-foot Sidebar restaurant building (owned by the county)
prior to the August 31 deadline, and that bid was too low.
Commissioner Robert Jones said the single bid received during
the month-long bid period was from a potential restaurateur who
offered $300,000, which is less than the county can accept.
The county spent $454,000 to acquire the former upscale
restaurant, adjacent to the courthouse on Depot Street, when it was
purchased in a foreclosure sale two years ago by the former
commissioner.
Jones has said renovation would be too costly, particularly
the expense of bringing the sprawling, multi-level building into
compliance with handicap access requirements.
The commissioner said he doesn't want to say exactly what the
county would accept to part with the building, but $300,000 was
considerably too low.
He said he will pursue other avenues to sell the building. At
this point, he said the plan remains to sell the building at a price
much closer to what the county has in it.
He said the county is also continuing to explore other
locations where they can relocate all non-judicial government
offices. Jones said at this point, they haven't found any suitable
office space.
He said county government will continue to develop a plan to
both part with the Sidebar Building and find suitable
handicap-accessible office space.