By By BEN RAYMOND LODE / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- The building that has been the home of Michigan State Police Niles Post 53 since the late '30s is in the process of being handed over to the City of Niles.
When paperwork between the state and the city has been completed the building, which has recently been appraised at $78,000, will be up for sale, said Terry Eull, city administrator.
The Niles state police post will move to the city's new law enforcement complex at 1600 Silverbrook on Nov. 18, where it will be located with the Niles city and township police departments.
Eull said the hand-over of the building is the result of an agreement between the city and the state from around the time when the building was constructed.
The building was built in the late '30s.
Eull said the building, located at 1001 S. 11th St., was a result of the Works Project Administration (WPA).
WPA was an ambitious New Deal program that put 8.5 million jobless Americans to work, mostly on projects that required manual labor.
Eull said the city will put the building up for sale as soon as the necessary paperwork has been completed, Eull said.
He was hoping the hand-over would happen sooner rather than later, but recently learned it may take months before the building will be handed over to the city.
While the building is in decent shape, Eull said it has some functional issues.
Eull said the building has small rooms and is probably not a good location for retail business.
But a lobby and several rooms may make it attractive for people looking for office space.
As a seller, Eull said the city was hoping the property would be appraised at a higher price.
Eull said sale of the property will have to be approved by the city council.
In addition to the state police post building being put up for sale, the city will also have to decide what to do with the building in which the city police and fire departments are currently located.
Both the fire and police department are in the process of getting ready to move into new buildings, which will leave the building on South Third Street vacant.