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North Vernon sells former Education and Training Center for $1.07 million to fund downtown projects
Summary
North Vernon Mayor Sean Gerkin said the city sold the former Education and Training Center for $1.07 million and will put the proceeds toward downtown revitalization, returning the property to the tax rolls after the building became commercially oriented and no longer self-sustaining.
Mayor Sean Gerkin said North Vernon City sold the former Education and Training Center (ETC) for $1.07 million, and city leaders plan to use the proceeds for downtown revitalization projects. "It did sell for $1.07 million," Gerkin said during a June 10 radio interview.
Gerkin said the building — purchased nearly 20 years ago by the city and the Redevelopment Commission and originally intended for education and training — lost its institutional tenants over time as Jennings County schools and IB Tech moved out. That shift left the city subsidizing a building that had become more commercial and retail-oriented.
"I never felt like the city should be in the leasing retail rental business anyway," Gerkin said, explaining the decision to put the property on the market. He said returning the building to private ownership will place it back on the tax rolls and increase revenue for the city.
The mayor said the Redevelopment Commission and city council concurred that selling the property was the best course and that the sale proceeds will be directed toward further downtown projects as part of ongoing revitalization efforts.
Gerkin characterized the sale as a pragmatic step to preserve public resources while enabling new private investment in a building the city had maintained for two decades. He said the city will move forward with other projects using the funds from the sale.
The mayor did not specify a timetable or list specific downtown projects to be funded by the sale proceeds.
