From the Roundtable: Growing inventory of vacant property troubling for Columbia
Watching the claw of a backhoe nibble away at the old Cleeks building on the southwest corner of West Boulevard and Worley Street brought back memories. It also brought up some concerns about commercial spaces.
A few decades ago, a third of the area’s grocery sales passed through Nowell’s across the street while the Cleek family’s chain of rent-to-own appliance and home furnishing stores started at the Worley location. “Tiger” John Cleek became notorious for putting up a poster in a corner window the week before each MU football game that showed his prediction of the score, with a decided bias for the Tigers.
After the Cleeks sold their business to Aaron’s, the father and son put their building at 1001 W. Worley St. on the market. With little apparent interest, the demolition squad was summoned for a “tear down.” There was no particular significance — either historical or structural — to merit retaining the building. But it was still a sad passing. The future plans for the corner have yet to be revealed.
Although there’s good news about recycling vacant structures in the Lemone Industrial Park for IBM and Linen King, there seems to be an inordinate amount of vacant property sitting around Columbia that the community needs to get back into action.
What might be done with the one-story building for sale at 1518 N. Garth Ave. that once housed the Bargain Barn? The building makes me think of the refrain of an ancient radio jingle about the Bargain Barn being a “real discount store” and its memorable sign reminding customers that “the credit department was on the 29th floor.”
Next door at 1500 N. Garth sits another vacant building of comparable vintage that is “for sale or lease.” The building, built by the late Ed Perry some 50 years ago, represented a huge leap from its predecessor, the old digs of Nathe Chevrolet. The building on Business Loop 70 where Nathe moved, later occupied by Bisping Olds and others, is also vacant and on the market. It seems poised for an angel to come and spare it from the Feast of the Hungry Backhoes.
What doomed the Cleeks’ corner building? Borrowing from the appraiser’s quiver of terms, the “highest and best use” judgment seemed to conclude that a vacant lot had more value.
Although there might have been complicating issues including the asbestos bugbear, interest in what used to be a very hot corner for commercial activity apparently wasn’t present when the market was tested. Perhaps in the location-location-location referendum, 1001 W. Worley just isn’t what it used to be.
One well-known commercial Realtor recently listed one of Business Loop 70’s real gems, the Commerce Bank Building. The building is being vacated as employees move to the newly renovated main bank building downtown, and it could be the ideal spot for another bank because the building has full vault facilities. One hopes it won’t be torn down. But that’s what happened to what preceded the bank on that corner — Joe Dietz’s Garage and Motorcycle Shop, where area Harley-Davidson fans used to gather.
With dozens of these presumably shovel-ready structures already in place and on the market, owners and their representatives will have to be adaptive to ensure the redeployment of all this available square footage.
The Nowell’s market, for example, was turned into the Columbia/Boone County Health Department.
