Former St. Joseph Community Hospital complex sold for $150,000

LORAIN — The defunct St. Joseph Community Center has sold. South Shore Development Corp. LLC — whose sole remaining member is Jim Janasko of Janasko Insurance — finalized a deal with A7 Development Group LLC out of Massachusetts. The 24-parcel property sold for $150,000, effective March 16. The Lorain County Auditor's website lists the total assessed value of all parcels combined as at about $1.3 million. Janasko said he is trying to close out the development corporation and "took what was offered." A7 Development is not the first group to look at the former health complex. A developer out of California had a deal in the works under former Mayor Chase Ritenauer, but it ultimately fell through. "A lot of times when people looked at the property and the condition of it, they felt that they couldn't get a return," Janasko said. He said A7 had not shared what it plans to do with the property. According to the company president's LinkedIn page, the company specializes in blighted or environmentally challenged properties and can offer "qualified entities" financing for environmental abatement and demolition costs. A7 Development did not return a request for comment Monday. Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass confirmed there is still upward of $250,000 owed in back taxes and assessments on the property. Snodgrass said those assessments follow the property, so they would have transferred to the new owner, and he had not been informed of any of the assessments being waived or forgiven by the city or county. It is unclear what became of outstanding utility bills, including the electric bill that was once in the city's name. The city refused to pay the $1.2 million FirstEnergy bill in 2017. The majority of the property has been vacant since 2015, when part of the center of it was torn down. The original St. Joseph Hospital opened out of a house in 1892, serving children in the city who needed immediate surgery. The main section on Broadway was completed in 1916, with an addition building in 1950. The hospital closed in 1997, and the center later housed political offices, the Veterans Affairs clinic and others. Contact Carissa Woytach at 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com. Follow her on Twitter @CWoytach.