Sell it? Keep it? Rehabilitate it? Demolish part of it?

The question of what to do with the municipal complex located at 18-22 W. Burdick St. continues to plague Oxford Village officials.

During a special workshop held prior to the March 27 regular meeting, council discussed and debated the potential fate of the municipal building constructed in 1967.

Councilman Erik Dolan believes it’s a “prime parcel of real estate in a very desirable community” and if it were ever to be sold for redevelopment purposes, it would have to be for the right price and the right development.

“I don’t want to just give away the property because we’re revenue poor,” he said. “It is too significant to the downtown area to just give it away. This is going to be a legacy project. This is not something that I’m looking to simply willy-nilly find the first person that’s willing to put an offer in and put up four walls.”

Much of the building, which exceeds 13,000 square feet, is currently unoccupied and unused. Right now, it houses the village office, police department, council chambers and the offices for the Downtown Development Authority and Oxford Chamber of Commerce.

In 2012, village residents voted 921 to 675 to grant the municipality the authority to sell the property if it so chooses.

It’s zoned for multiple-family residential use, but in a March 26 memo to council, village Planner Chris Khorey stated “the master plan would support a rezoning to C-1 Transition or potentially C-1 Core.”

C-1 Core and C-1 Transition allow for a variety of uses, including retail sales establishments, restaurants, bars and offices.

Turning the property into a residential development would fit in with the Downtown Vision Plan prepared in 2005 for the Oxford Downtown Development Authority.

That plan stated the property could “accommodate approximately 40 townhouse condominiums.”

The main problem with selling the building and constructing a new facility to meet the village’s needs is coming up with enough money to make it happen.

Previous offers the village has received for the site, which is approximately 2 acres in size, have not been enough to cover the cost, according to officials.

Back in 2013, former village Manager Joe Young estimated it could cost anywhere from $750,000 to $1.125 million to build a new 2,500-square-foot municipal office and 5,000-square-foot police station. His estimates were based on a construction cost of $100 to $150 per square foot.

Village attorney Bob Davis believes if it were a vacant piece of land, the municipal site would be “worth $400,000 to $500,000.”

“I would say that’s about what the market is,” he said.

The other problem with selling is finding a temporary place to house the village office and police station, and conduct meetings while constructing a new facility.

Davis made a suggestion.

“Could we house ourselves at the township facility on an interim basis?” he said.

The township hall is located outside the village at 300 Dunlap Rd., just north of Seymour Lake Rd.

“I was over there and they’re not anywhere even close to capacity,” Davis said.

“That’s an outstanding idea,” Dolan said.

In addition to finding out if the township is open to the idea, Davis noted he would have to look into whether or not it’s legally permissible to house the village office and conduct meetings outside of the municipality’s boundaries.

“This is not a common question,” he said.

It was suggested that, if need be, meetings could possibly be temporarily held at the Oxford Fire Department’s main station, which is located in the village.

Davis said it’s better to button down these issues now than later. “You don’t want to start down a road that you can’t finish,” he said. “You don’t want to get this thing on the market unless you know you have a place to house yourself.”

Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth favors having 18-22 W. Burdick St. remain village-owned property.

“I don’t think we sell it at all,” she said. “We’ve got to keep it.”

Helmuth noted the site’s parking lot serves as “overflow parking for the downtown.”

“It’s filled all the time . . . It’s always busy,” she said.

Officials discussed the idea of staying put, but modifying the building.

“Maybe this location, long-term, is exactly where we want to be, but perhaps this is not the building that suits our needs,” said Councilman Joe Frost.

He suggested that perhaps the building just needs to be improved to make it “a little bit more presentable and functional.”

Davis noted neighboring Addison Township, another municipality he represents, transformed its old hall into a much more modern, functional and attractive facility without ever having to move its operations elsewhere.

“That space (was) never vacated during that entire construction (project),” he said. “The police stayed. The office staff stayed.”

Davis noted “you would never know” by looking at the new hall that some of the old structure is still there. “You cannot tell,” he said.

In response, Frost said, “Maybe there’s an opportunity to rehab a portion of (the municipal building) while still using it and then move over to that (side) and rehab the other portion at a later date. Projects get phased all the time.”

Given his background in historic preservation, Frost noted, “There is something about this building. It has served the community for 50 years.”

Dolan noted that rehabilitating the building would be his “first preference.”

“This is the face of the village,” he said.

Helmuth suggested demolishing the building’s eastern wing, which housed the township hall until 2006, and using the space to add more parking.

That area was previously measured and there would only be a gain of seven parking spaces, according to Bossardet.

Helmuth disagreed. “I would bet you could get more if you really looked at it,” she said.

Frost liked the idea of using some of the unused space to house a business incubator.

No matter what council members ultimately decide to do with the municipal complex, village Manager Joseph Madore noted they must be mindful of the overall financial picture.

He said “the next two budget years are pretty tight” until some bond debt gets paid off in 2020. Once that happens, Madore advised council not to rush to “max out the credit card again.”

“You need to relax and enjoy that breathing room because right now, you don’t have any breathing room,” he said.