Daniel Prince
Apr 24, 2023
Museum hopes to relocate on Main Street
During the city budget workshop, City Administrator Joe Nichols said work will continue on trying to relocate the residents of the Fairforest Apartments on Main Street to another facility. Nichols said Landmark Properties, which owns the apartments, is not properly maintaining their buildings. He said there is interest in getting the residents relocated to a newer facility on Times Boulevard, but that will be dependent on getting approval for the transfer of liability and ownership of the current property. He said the city has talked to a consulting group that includes former Governor Jim Hodges and several others. He said they believe they can get the transfer done. Nichols noted there are “outs” in the contract, so if the city feels like things are not moving forward, the city can exit the proceedings. He noted that the process could cost around $180,000 and could be split between the city and the county.
The Fairforest Hotel property has been mentioned numerous times through the years as a great site for student housing for USC Union. Landmark Properties also owns the building the museum is using. Nichols noted there has been water damage to the museum building, as well as some window damage and other issues. The museum is already looking at options to move out of the building once their 20-year lease ends in October. They say the museum will be most effective if they remain on Main Street, so they are looking at locations there, including the former Graham Cash building. The man from Texas who purchased that building recently died, so they are talking to his widow to see if they could possibly purchase the building. They are also looking at other buildings on Main Street, as well. WBCU News will follow this in the coming months and report on developments as they take place.