KINGWOOD — It could take years to have the Sweet Annie’s building in downtown Kingwood condemned, according to the mayor.
And it’s a shame that the historic building was allowed to get into this condition, Mayor Jean Guillot said. The historic building was extensively renovated within the last 15 years, but now it sits empty in Kingwood’s downtown, with a collapsed floor and sideways lean.
Last week, Kingwood Council directed the mayor to call a meeting of the enforcement committee to inspect the building, the first step in condemnation procedures.
The enforcement committee is made up of the mayor; a citizen at large, Lefty Stonebreaker; the Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department chief; City Supervisor Bruce Pyles and Health Department Administrator V.J. Davis.
“The first and foremost thing you’re looking for is public safety,” Guillot said, “seeing how structurally sound the building is and whether it’s going to be affecting adjacent properties.”
The city has already boarded up the rear door, Guillot said, because, “once you opened the back door, you’d have to hopscotch to walk, otherwise you’d fall through.” Looking through the front windows, a gaping hole in the floor blocked off with crossed boards can be seen inside the building.
Kingwood also boarded up the sides because of leaning stairwells, the mayor said.
“But the shame of it is the front apartment, you had new counters, you had new freezers, washing machine type stuff,” Guillot said. “You had the cabinets, the carpets. In the back bedroom, if you walked in, there’s a lot of it that looks like a new place. It’s a shame.”
But once water started coming in from the leaking roof, black mold followed, he said.
The committee hasn’t been able to meet yet because of the holidays, Guillot said, but will as soon as possible. It will report back to city council, which can vote to begin condemnation procedures.
“And that can take years,” Guillot said. He recalled the last time council pursued condemnation it was a three-year process. “So you’d rather not have to go through condemnation,” he said.
If council votes for condemnation, it must notify the owner and give time for the owner to act. The owner can request a hearing or an extension. If the city tears down the building and puts a lien on the property, it can’t collect until the land is sold, and tax liens take priority.
The town was able to bypass the process for another Price Street building when the owner signed it over to Kingwood. Digger’s Construction won the contract to demolish 146 S. Price St.
According to The Dominion Post archives, between 2003 and 2004, the William G. Brown Family Trust bought five buildings in Kingwood’s downtown historic district, including the Sweet Annie’s building.
William G. Brown IV of Virginia and his sister, Anna Brown Gupta, of California, were behind the investment. The original purchases included the Bishop House on High Street, Herring Building at the corner of Main and Price; and the Dunn, Wilson and Evick Buildings on Price.
Sweet Annie’s is the Dunn Building. The trust completely restored the building, putting an apartment on the second floor and retail space on the first, but it has been empty for several years. Dunn-Evick Buildings LLC is listed as the owner by the city, but the secretary of state’s web site shows the company was revoked for failure to file annual reports.
The property went to the state in 2012 for nonpayment of taxes, and the owner’s attorney previously told council it no longer owns the building. The former city attorney told council a tax lien alone does not mean Dunn-Evick no longer owns the property.
