COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The City of Coldwater has received an offer on the former Lefty’s Lounge at 10 South Monroe from Broadway Grille owner Scott Ladd with plans to convert the property into a bar or a bar and restaurant.
Lefty’s closed in June 2016, blaming nearby construction for the closure. The city bought the property from the State of Michigan through its Property Tax Foreclosure Project for $23,500.
The introduction of agreements to cover a lease and a purchase option for the property are on Monday’s Coldwater City Council agenda. City Manager Keith Baker says in a letter to the Council that Ladd wants to rent the property with the purpose of renovating it into a new bar and or bar and restaurant with up to two apartments on the second floor. The rent for the property would be $275 a month for two years while the renovations are taking place.
Baker says the second part of the transaction would be an option to purchase the property after a bar or restaurant had been operating there for six months and at least $75,000 had been invested in the building. The sale price would be $23,500 which is the same amount of money the city has put into the building.
If the Council introduces the agreements on Monday, they would have to sit on the table for at least 30 days since the transaction involves public property. Baker points out in his letter that the city can not profit from the sale or lease of the building since the city is a public entity and the building was purchased from the State of Michigan. The city can only recoup any expenses it has incurred.
