By Amanda Raymond

amanda.raymond@salsiburypost.com

SALISBURY — The Rowan County Board of Commissioners gave the final approval for the sale of two county properties and will be accepting bids for the demolition of a third.

At the meeting on Tuesday, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the sale of properties at 165 Mahaley Ave. in Salisbury and 418 S. Carolina Ave. in Spencer.

Nazareth Children’s Home won the auction for the property on Mahaley Avenue, a building previously used as a division of Rowan County Social Services. Nazareth’s offer was $180,000 and a deposit of $9,000 was received. The tax value of the property is $824,348.

Norman R. Hager won the auction for the property at South Carolina Avenue with a $24,000 bid. Hager has submitted a deposit of $1,200. The now unoccupied house was once used as a home for veterans and has a tax value of $84,100.

One more property was included in the auction: a building at 1236 W. Innes St. No one bid on the property during the auction.

Potential bidders were allowed to explore the properties on the day of the auction. At the West Innes Street building — the former headquarters for the county’s Department of Social Services — bidders found parts of the wall and ceiling covered in mold and a moist carpet.

Commissioner Craig Pierce asked County Manager Aaron Church about a person who was interested in the West Innes property but was not able to attend the auction.

Church said that person “did not come through with an offer.”

Commissioners Chairman Greg Edds suggested that Church reach out to the interested individual one more time, but Church said a motion to begin accepting demolition bids may encourage people to bid on the property to save it.

The commissioners then approved a motion to allow Church to gather bids for demolition for the West Innes property.

Commissioner Jim Greene said the board has tried to do all it could to sell the property.

“My personal opinion is that having (Church) look into this and see what we can do with the property is the best way to move forward with that,” he said.

Pierce also made a motion, from an idea formerly brought up by Commissioner Mike Caskey, to take down the dedication plaques at the Mahaley and Innes properties and place them at the West End Plaza. The board approved the motion unanimously.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved storage facilities for tracts of land on the 4000 block of Goodman Lake Road, the 4600 block of Old Concord Road and the 300 block of Cress Loop Road.
• Approved a lease with the Veterans Council for a 2,700-square-foot space at the West End Plaza. The item was approved with the consent agenda.
• Reappointed Edds to the Charlotte Regional Partnership board for a year.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.