A new law that could lead to Bristol gaining control over the burned-out former Virginia Intermont College property takes effect Tuesday — and city leaders say they will waste no time taking advantage of it.
City Manager Randy Eads said Monday that by late Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning, he expects to file the documents to petition the circuit court to appoint a special commissioner to convey the property to the city. That would mean the city can bypass auctioning off the property to the highest bidder, and have control over who purchases it this time.
The new law will also apply to other blighted properties in the city and in some other localities across the state.
The legislation was filed in Richmond just weeks after most of the original college buildings were destroyed in a massive overnight fire on Dec. 20.
The 37-acre property has been vacant since May 2014, when the 130-year-old school closed due to financial struggles, dropping enrollment and the loss of accreditation.
In December 2016, the property was sold at auction for $3.3 million to U.S. Magis, a company based in China that some city officials have referred to as an “absentee owner.” Although the new owner announced plans to establish a business school at the site, the plans never materialized.
Over the 11 years since the college closed, the buildings and the grounds have deteriorated and are now considered derelict. Most of the windows are broken, and the property was the site of a number of break-ins and two previous, smaller fires.
City officials have been unsuccessful in their repeated attempts to get the owner of the property to improve and secure the buildings.
Once the city files the petition with the court, U.S. Magis will have a chance to respond and will likely have 21 days to do so, Eads said.
The city manager will then ask the court to set a hearing, which he said he hopes will happen by August or September.
If the city gains control of the property, it will put out a request for proposals from developers who will detail their plans for the site on Moore Street.
Eads said the city council will review those plans and — he hopes — approve one. Although a public hearing likely won’t be held, the city manager said residents can attend the meeting, speak and ask questions.
A ‘catalyst’ for development
Once the property is in the city’s hands, Eads said he thinks interest from developers will follow.
Ideally, city leaders would like “a property up there that is producing tax revenue for the city. We would want that property to be a catalyst for the rest of downtown, for other property owners to fix up and maintain their homes that are in that part of town,” he added.
Because the city has a housing shortage, Eads said he’d like to see some housing that’s not subsidized by the government in that neighborhood, which is in the heart of downtown.
“It’s a gorgeous piece of property — there are gorgeous views when you’re on the property. It could really be turned into something special with the right developer,” he added.
Under the law, a buyer will be required to begin repairing the property within six months of the purchase and bring the property into compliance with local building codes within two years.
The law also requires that a property be vacant for at least five years and must be delinquent on property taxes before it can be sold, both of which apply to the former VI site.
As of Monday afternoon, U.S. Magis owes the city $623,349 in property taxes, according to the city treasurer’s office. If the owner paid those taxes before the sale, the city wouldn’t be able to take control of the former campus, Eads said.
“Representatives of U.S. Magis met with city staff last August and advised the city staff that they would pay the taxes by Sept. 30. That day came and went, no taxes were paid and we have yet to hear from them since,” he said.
Since 2023, the city has spent $144,102 on the property; most of that has been since the fire, which left huge brick walls standing that had to be demolished because they were dangerous. That demolition cost $84,000, according to Eads.
Because the original red bricks contain asbestos, the city was advised to put a covering over them to keep the asbestos from being released into the air. That price tag for the covering, a Posi-Shell, was $14,700, the city manager said.
The city has fenced the entire property and the entrances are gated. All of the bricks and other rubble and debris left after the demolition remain. The remaining buildings continue to deteriorate and many are covered by vegetation.
The city also recently mowed the overgrown property, which cost another $8,300, Eads said.
‘We want it as badly as they do’
Mayor Becky Nave said Monday that the city has received a lot of negative feedback from people who don’t understand what happened with the property and ask how the city could have sold the property to its current owner.
She said she explains that the bank foreclosed on the property and sold it at auction.
“It was out of our hands,” she said.
She said the city sought the law to keep that from happening again.
“We’re just really glad now that we’re in a situation, thanks to our lawmakers getting this legislation passed, that we can do something, hopefully,” Nave said. “My goal is to bring that area back to its full potential and turn it into something vibrant that our city can be proud of and all the VI alumni and family can be proud of. I’ve talked to a lot of them to explain, we want it as badly as they do.”
SB 1476, introduced by Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, passed the House of Delegates 97-0 and the Senate 30-5.
Eads said he thinks it won so much support because lawmakers heard from constituents who need a way to deal with problematic properties in their localities.
“There was a lot of support for this bill to give localities an opportunity to start bringing back some of these blighted and derelict properties into good use,” he said.
