By Leah Justice

leah.justice@tryondailybulletin.com

 

The Town of Tryon has sent out a notice of foreclosure on the Jervey-Palmer building (old St. Luke’s Hospital) off Carolina Drive.

The town placed an advertisement in Tuesday’s edition of the Bulletin calling for a public auction of the building.

Tryon Town Manager Joey Davis said the town has been pursuing foreclosure proceedings since the middle of 2015 due to unpaid property taxes on the parcel.

“We’re now approaching a sales date in accordance with the proceedings,” said Davis.

Back taxes currently owed on the property include $6,592, which if it the proceedings made it to auction, would be the opening bid.

Daystar Enterprises owner Jerry Thomas said on Monday that a sale will not occur as he is paying the 2014 taxes as well as the 2015 taxes that the town’s total includes. He said the 2014 taxes were due Jan. 1, 2015 and the 2015 taxes were recently due on Jan. 1, 2016.

“Under and by virtue of an order of the District Court of Polk County, North Carolina, made and entered in the action entitled, ‘Town of Tryon, A Body Politic and Corporate vs. Daystar Enterprises, Inc.” the undersigned commissioner will on the 16^th day of February, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. offer for sale and sell for cash, to the last and highest bidder at public auction at the courthouse door in Polk County, North Carolina in Columbus, the following described property in Polk County, North Carolina and more particularly described as follows,” states the town’s advertisement.

The ad continued with a description of the exact location of the parcel.

Thomas said his attorney is handling the payment, which will be made prior to the public sale. He said he has multiple properties and this one simply fell through the cracks in terms of paying the taxes.

Daystar Enterprises purchased the old hospital most recently known as the Jervey-Palmer building from Polk County, which formerly used it as its department of social services, Meeting Place Senior Center and veteran’s services prior to constructing a new building in Mill Spring. Thomas purchased the building and property for $50,000 in 2013. The county had offered to donate the building and property to the Town of Tryon since it is located off Carolina Drive inside town limits, but the town declined the offer. Polk County profited $49,050 after settlement costs and placed the money with the county’s economic and tourism development commission (ETDC) specifically to go towards an industrial park plan.

The building was originally constructed in 1929 as the first St. Luke’s Hospital. When the new hospital opened in 1972 in Columbus, the hospital gave the Jervey-Palmer building to the county. The building is 17,777 square feet and is located on 4.92 acres.

Thomas has been renovating the Jervey-Palmer building since he purchased it with recent work being the excavation of trees. Thomas said in 2014 his plans for the building include renovating the upstairs to be used as a reception hall for community events. Thomas also owns the former Grover Plant in Lynn.