Toledo council votes to sell facilities building for $1

11/20/2012

A majority of Toledo City Council voted today to sell the city's former fleet and facilities building on Albion Street for a single dollar to American Steel Products Corp.

Council voted 10-2 to approve the sale. Councilmen Adam Martinez and Paula Hicks-Hudson voted against the sale.

Toledo entrepreneur Ford Cauffiel, of American Steel Products, approached the city regarding the property, city records said.

Mr. Martinez said he voted no because the building, even though it is vacant, has value. He said non-profit companies have had to give the city money for buildings in the past.

"I think it had more value than a dollar," he said. "I understand the opportunity loss and the cost we incur with it. I would have preferred the administration put up a little bit of a fight to get a little bit more money."

Council also voted 12-0 to grant a special use permit to the private Maumee Valley Country Day School in South Toledo so it could build an on-campus residence hall to board both international and regional high school students.

The $1.5 million facility school officials announced in August will be tucked back in a wooded area on the east side of the school's 75 acres, and will provide living quarters for 28 students in the ninth through 12th grades from abroad, as well as regional students who attend the school from farther distances.