Loveland’s City Council voted Tuesday to sell one of the city-owned houses on the west side of North Taft Avenue, as staffers turn their attention to the next phase of the Taft widening project.
The city acquired all of the homes on the west side of Taft between Big Barnes Ditch and Eisenhower Boulevard to simplify the widening of the north-south roadway.
About 12 years ago, the city bought the house at 1007 N. Taft Ave. in preparation for the widening of Taft between Eighth and 11th streets, which was completed in 2018. While several homes were knocked down to make way for bike lanes and a center turn lane, 1007 N. Taft Ave. and the two homes to the north were spared.
Facilities manager Michael Hogan said parking was moved to the rear of the properties to accommodate the larger road.
“Most of the time when we purchase a property for right-of-way expansion, the property goes away because the road ends up being so close to the house or through the house,” he told the council Tuesday. “Engineering was able to save the house.”
The council voted 9-0 to sell the house for $335,000 to the current tenant, who “was able to obtain a VA loan that allowed him to purchase the home they have rented for years,” according to a staff memo.
By renting out the house, Hogan said the city had been able to return $115,000 to its general fund. The Taft properties aren’t the only homes owned by the city — in an interview Friday, City Manager Steve Adams mentioned that Loveland owns living space next to its Water Treatment Plant — but Hogan said the city is trying to shed its rental properties where it can.
“All we’re doing is holding our own and not creating an eyesore where we’re going to eventually need to put a road,” he said. “(Adams) told me a couple of years ago, ‘The last thing I want you to be is in the rental business, so get out when you can.’”
Councilor Rob Molloy said he was glad to hear the homes were being sold and would be maintained into the future. He formerly served on the city’s Planning Commission and remembered a new commissioner asking the group whether the homes along Taft were “crack houses.”
“It’s great that you’re selling them,” Molloy said.
In response to a question from councilor Steve Olson, Hogan confirmed the city would be paying $20,000 in closing costs, meaning $315,000 in proceeds will be returned to transportation capital expansion fee revenues.
The same staff memo said the two homes to the north of the property may be sold “in the coming months.”
Loveland hopes to start removing homes to make way for the next phase of the widening, between 11th Street and Eisenhower, in mid-2022 and break ground in 2023.
The council will have to vote in favor one more time to finalize the sale. Currently, the second vote is scheduled for April 20.
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Loveland council gives first nod to selling house on North Taft Avenue - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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