Acquisition tied to long-term facilities planning and future city growth
The City of Bellefontaine has purchased the former National Salt Distributors properties along South Main Street for approximately $3.3 million, a move city officials say will help address space shortages in several municipal departments as the community continues to grow.
The property transactions were consummated Jan. 30 between the city and Buck & Buck Enterprises LLC, represented by Steve Buck, president and CEO of National Salt, according to Logan County Auditor records.
Bellefontaine City Council approved legislation authorizing the purchase last fall, adopting the ordinance on first and final reading under emergency provisions that allowed the city to complete the transaction without delay.
City officials said the emergency legislation helped ensure the property remained available to the city during negotiations.
Officials said that while the legislation moved quickly once introduced, the decision to pursue the property was not rushed. Discussions began within the administration and with City Council’s Finance Committee in October, and the opportunity was evaluated over several weeks before legislation was prepared once negotiations reached a point where the property could be secured.
Council entered executive session following its Oct. 28 meeting to discuss the potential purchase but took no formal action. At its Nov. 11 meeting, council unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the purchase on first and final reading after adding the measure to the agenda and waiving the 48-hour notice and three-reading requirements.
The two parcels — totaling about 5.54 acres — located in the 1500 block of South Main Street were home for many years to local auto dealerships, including Graham Chevrolet-Cadillac and Fred Daring Chevrolet-Cadillac. The Daring dealership operated at the location from 1968 to 1984, when the property was sold back to Graham before later being purchased by Steve Austin’s Auto Group. National Salt moved into the location around 2008.
Over the years, National Salt shared the space with other businesses, including Aqua Systems, which purchased the retail portion of National Salt in 2017, and more recently with another auto dealer, Peregrine Motors LLC. Local businessman Tom Reynolds also maintained office space at the location.
Last month, National Salt announced it had relocated to its former home at 643 Township Road 217, Bellefontaine, where the business previously operated from 1998 to 2008.
Service-Safety Director Wes Dodds said the property’s size, location and existing structures made it an attractive option as the city evaluates future facility needs.
“Opportunities to acquire a property of this size and location within the city do not come along often, and the city felt it was important to take advantage of that opportunity,” Dodds said.
The site includes approximately 5.5 acres with frontage along South Main Street and dual access points, along with an existing 24,000-square-foot industrial building and a nearly 7,500-square-foot hoop building suitable for equipment and materials storage.
Officials say those facilities could provide immediate operational flexibility while longer-term planning efforts continue.
City leaders also said the purchase compares favorably with current construction costs and recent commercial property values along the South Main Street corridor.
“Even using a very conservative construction estimate, the existing 24,000-square-foot building alone would cost roughly $3 million to build today,” Dodds noted. “Acquiring that building, plus 5.5 acres of land and additional storage space, for $3.3 million represents a strong value for Bellefontaine taxpayers.”
According to property sales data compiled by city officials, several smaller commercial parcels along South Main Street have sold for significantly higher per-acre prices, with some exceeding $2 million per acre, compared to about $600,000 per acre for the city’s purchase.
The purchase comes as Bellefontaine officials work through a multi-phase strategic planning effort designed to evaluate the city’s long-term operational needs and infrastructure requirements.
Several municipal facilities are aging and require significant renovations, while other departments are experiencing space limitations as the community continues to expand.
“We’ve had issues with space in municipal court. We’ve got issues with space in the police department. We really got space issues all over the place. I saw us putting band aids on buildings over and over again, and at some point you have to address what the root causes are,” Dodds said.
City administrators are currently completing a facilities master plan that is evaluating the condition, capacity and long-term needs of municipal buildings and departments.
The planning process is intended to guide decisions about how city facilities should evolve as Bellefontaine continues to grow.
“The city is currently working through a facilities master plan to evaluate long-term municipal space needs,” officials said. “Securing this property gives us flexibility to address aging facilities, space constraints and future growth as those plans come together.”
As part of those discussions, the newly acquired South Main Street property is being reviewed for a variety of possible uses.
Potential future options could include relocating certain city operations, consolidating municipal services, providing temporary workspace during renovations or developing new facilities to support future municipal services.
City officials emphasized that the purchase does not commit the city to any specific redevelopment plan at this time.
“No final decisions have been made regarding the long-term use of the property at this time,” Dodds said, adding that any future plans will be discussed publicly and will ultimately require review and approval by city council.
Strategic planning process underway
City officials say the property purchase is tied to a broader strategic planning effort that began shortly after Mayor Dave Crissman took office.
The initiative began in July 2024 with meetings involving city staff and community stakeholders and has been structured in several phases designed to evaluate staffing needs, land use, infrastructure and municipal facilities.
Those phases include departmental planning, a review of the city’s governmental structure, development of a future land-use plan, a facilities master plan, infrastructure planning for water and sewer systems and a long-term financing strategy.
Officials say the future land-use planning process is nearing completion and will move into public review in the coming months, giving residents an opportunity to review planning materials and provide feedback.
Planning costs
The city has allocated approximately $144,000 for the overall strategic planning effort, which includes multiple phases of analysis and consulting services.
Dodds said roughly $120,000 has been spent through mid-February this year, with about $26,000 remaining.
The work has been coordinated by consultants from The Ohio Plan, with additional consulting assistance from ELAVAR Consulting of Cincinnati, which was selected through a request-for-qualifications process.
Funding for the planning effort came from proceeds related to the city’s land transaction with Mary Rutan Hospital, meaning the work was not funded through the city’s general operating fund.
