Mayor O’Connor says 123-125 North Market St. has been vacant for more than 20 years
Mayor Michael O’Connor
Frederick, Md (KM) Frederick City’s legal staff has filed a petition with the District Court to initiate receivership for the property at 123-125 North Market Street that once housed the Asiana Restaurant. Mayor Michael O’Connor says that action was taken early on Tuesday. He made the announcement later on that day. “Receivership is a legal remedy that, if successful, will allow the court to appoint a third party to rehabilitate, demolish or sell a blighted property,” he says. “Specifically, the city is asking the court to appoint a receiver to sell this property.”
The Mayor says the property has been vacant since 2001, and has been subject of numerous code violations, including unsafe electrical conduits, leaky roofs and just general disrepair. “Our actions today are not sudden. and they are not taken lightly,” O’Connor says. “This action is the culmination of years of effort to engage with the property owner to remedy its many documented issues.”
“Despite our best efforts, lack of action from the owner has left us with no alternative,” Mayor O’Connor continues. “This property is a detriment to our community in its current condition. and we are compelled to take decisive action. Our residents have made clear that they do not want vacant and blighted properties in our city.”
The Mayor says the city is proposing that St John Properties be named the receiver. Matt Holbrook is a partner with the company, which has been in Frederick for more than 25 years. “Our plan is to assess what we have, stabilize it and then position it as optimally as possible for sale,” he says.
The City of Frederick has had a receivership ordinance in place since 2013.
By Kevin McManus