CAMBRIDGE, Md. - The old and dilapidated Hearn Building remains on Race St. with no known future plans.
Community members, business owners, and city leaders are frustrated with the state of the Hearn Building. The building has been unused since 2010. And in 2015, the building suffered a collapse of a wall.
Commissioner Lajan Cephas wrote a letter to NCALL on Sept.19. In the letter Cephas wrote, "We understand that a subsidiary of NCALL called Hearn Ownership LLC has owned this property for more than three years." Commissioner Cephas wrote on behalf of her colleagues to achieve an acceptable plan from NCALL.
Frustration comes from the condition of the building and how long it's been. Support beams spider out toward buttresses. The building is windowless. And, the sidewalk is blocked. This causes people to walk into the busy street.
Business owners like Henry Vandyke, who own Lil' Bitta Bull, want a change. Vandyke's restaurant is right across the street. He says, it doesn't make the city look good. "It says that we don't take care of our community. It says that we are putting our resources into other things and new projects and not taking care of what we already have. If we are going to keep this building, then we need to focus on repairing it and making it look presentable," says Vandyke.
Not only was the letter sent because of frustration, but city leaders say it was also because meetings were unable to be set up.
City Manager, Tom Carroll, says "We had fulfilled our part of an interim agreement and we hadn't seen them fulfill their part of setting up a meeting. When you are an out of town landlord and you do not say what you're going to do, that's a big concern for a city."
"We certainly understand their frustration. It has taken a while. This process is one that does indeed take a while. So, we are working. We have a sales agreement on the property and we are working with the developer to redevelop that property," says NCALL's Loan Fund Director Dave Callahan.
NCALL said they have not responded to the letter, yet. But, they are setting up a meeting to meet the first week of Oct.