Tryon Town Council learned a few more details about the ABC/Nana’s Kitchen building that the town is currently considering purchasing, including that an appraisal came back at $250,000, exactly the asking price.

After discussions, however, the town is still unsure if it wants to purchase the building and has asked for more information prior to making a decision.

Council held a special meeting last Thursday, April 2 and discussed the appraisal and a recently completed inspection.

EHG Appraisals did the appraisal on the building, located on South Trade Street between IGA and Sunnydale. Tryon Town Manager Joey Davis said the appraised value of the building is $250,000, with the appraiser saying it would have been higher if the third unit of the building were occupied. It currently is not.

The town asked Peter Piacente to conduct an inspection of the building, with Piacente attending last Thursday’s special meeting.

Commissioner George Baker asked what is the reasonable economic life of the building.

Piacente said 50 years easily with the building being in very good shape in his opinion.

Commissioner Roy Miller asked what are the estimated costs of repairs listed in the inspection.

Davis said the parking lot resurfacing would be the highest cost. He said most of the repairs are small, in the couple thousand-dollar range.

Davis also said resurfacing used to cost $1 per square foot. Piacente said the town is likely looking at a 20,000-30,000 square foot parking lot.

Other questions came from Commissioner Bill Ingham, who asked if the town has looked into what it would cost to insure the building.

ABC store board member Dennis Durham said the ABC store carries its own insurance, which costs a little over $2,000 per year.

Davis said he has not yet checked how much insurance on the building would cost but it may be fairly minimal since the town already carries so much insurance.

“Sounds like we’ve got more questions than answers,” said Commissioner George Baker. “We may should hold off until the next meeting which is only two weeks away.”

Miller said the town should also talk to Nana’s Kitchen as well to get an idea of their long-term plans and come back with an estimate on paving costs.

Ingham added the town should also come back with insurance estimates.

Tryon Mayor Jim Wright said he thinks the town should do a profit/loss estimate based on what the mortgage will be, repairs, insurance and revenues. Wright said the town should build a reserve for future expenses.

Ingham said in the town’s estimations he wouldn’t figure any type of revenue for the middle building, to be on the conservative side.

The ABC board was approached by the building owner to purchase the building with no money down and owner financing. The ABC store discovered, per state statutes, that it cannot make any revenue except from the sale of liquor, so owning a building that generates rental income is not possible. The ABC board approached the town to see if it was interested in the purchase. The asking price is $250,000 with the mortgage estimated at approximately $1,200 per month. The ABC board currently pays $1,000 a month rent as well as Nana’s Kitchen.

The ABC store at one point in recent years closed down but reopened under new management and has since seen increased revenues. In March, Tryon’s ABC board saw $7,000 more in sales than in March 2014.

Council decided to table the decision of whether to purchase the building until its next scheduled meeting for Tuesday, April 21. The town meets at 7 p.m. at the Tryon Fire Department.