Main Street offer tabled by West Concord EDA

Members of the West Concord EDA discussed the future of the 207 West Main Street building at its Nov. 7 meeting. 

The EDA chose to table any discussion on moving forward with the sale of the building. The potential buyers of the space will wait until the issue is discussed at next month’s EDA meeting, according to members of the body. 

EDA Coordinator Tom Monson presented a draft of covenants relating to the 207 West Main Street building for the EDA to consider by next month. This starting point of a document  outlines what should be considered when looking at offers for the building. 

These covenants include:

•Viability of business: The draft recommends that offers include a written business plan that outlines the type of business, proposed hours of operation with at least one employee present and that warehousing and storage businesses will not be considered a viable offer.

•Multi-payment purchase agreement: Payments must be on-time and managed by Farmer State Bank of West Concord, businesses must provide proof of insurance and businesses cannot stockpile materials unrelated to business operations.

•Exterior: The outside of the building must be well-maintained and organized.

Monson requested that members of the EDA think about the covenant and any potential changes to discuss at next month’s meeting. 

Monson also discussed an idea that he discussed with City Administrator Theresa Booms shortly before the meeting. After attending a reception, Monson started to consider what a keynote speaker said about capturing niche markets within a community. With West Concord being what he called a tiling mecca, Monson thought it could be interesting to hold an art competition for people who could construct an art installation out of tile. 

Three phases of the potential project were outlined by Monson.

1. Obtaining tile from the tile companies through a buy-in

2. Marketing the competition to attract artists

3. Obtaining a cash prize for the winners of the competition