Bessemer considering purchase of Jehovah's Witnesses facility for new city hall

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/08/bessemer_considering_purchase.html

 

BESSEMER, Alabama --- The Bessemer City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to spend the next 60 days determining whether the Jehovah's Witnesses Assembly Hall on Second Avenue North in Bessemer can serve as the new site for a city hall.

 

Mayor Kenneth Gulley said the city has been able to negotiate a purchase price of about $1.4 million for the building, down from an original asking price of $1.8 million.

 

The city would provide about $400,000 of the money upfront at closing and pay $66,000 a month over 15 months, Gulley said.

 

City officials said they still need to determine whether the assembly hall can work as a city hall and what, if any, renovations would be needed if the building is purchased.

 

Another site that has been considered is the First Presbyterian Church building on Third Avenue.

 

If the city buys the Jehovah's Witnesses' 62,297-square-foot building, it also would acquire the 2.77-acre parcel upon which the building sits and a half-acre parcel the Jehovah's Witnesses own across the street at 1411 Second Ave. North, according to terms of the negotiated deal.