The next act for a downtown building is still being written.
Trying to garner interest in a property up for tax sale, Timmins staff suggested writing off all but $1,000 of the outstanding taxes for a former theatre and nightclub at 33 Cedar St. S. It would mean forgiving $281,363 in unpaid taxes.
With some councillors seeing potential in the central building and not wanting to give it away too cheaply, council has deferred deciding what to do with the property to its Sept. 19 meeting.
Built in the 1940s, the building housed the Victory Theatre until the early '90s, a generation of people was entertained after it was turned into the Amigos nightclub and most recently it was Cheapsters restaurant.
The city has been trying to sell 33 Cedar St. S. since September 2021. At that point, the minimum bid was $194,159.
In October 2022, it went up again with a minimum bid of $239,698. The final attempt at a tax sale in June was for $275,744. The increase in the base price is due to the accumulating taxes, interest and penalties on the account. The assessed value of the property is $415,000.
SEE: Former bar, theatre up for tax sale
The building is in disrepair and needs significant renovations, according to the staff report.
Even still, councillors are hesitant to give it away too cheap.
The large parcel of property is across from city hall, said Coun. Steve Black.
“In previous terms we did have some discussions of what could be done with that property,” he said.
The city needs to take a broader look at its potential opportunities, he said.
Coun. Cory Robin agreed, questioning if it could be listed for a different value.
The Community Development Committee has talked about the options for the property.
The three they came up with was to relist the property for a tax sale with no change to the minimum bid, having council forgive a portion of the taxes and selling the property with a lower minimum bid, or vesting the property, which would transfer ownership into the municipality's name.
In the past, the city has written off a portion of unpaid taxes in order to attract new bidders.
“Several years ago we did do this with a property on Wilson and we also did this with a property on the highway in South Porcupine,” said Natalie Moore, director of finance. In both of those cases, she said the properties sold.
