No progress at long-vacant DeKalb hospital in 3 years

A DeKalb housing development that would have seen 32 apartments built in a 103-year-old building that’s been vacant for more than 30 years may not happen, according to the city of DeKalb.

Jonathan Sauser, a DeKalb-based developer who in 2022 sought city approval to revitalize the long-vacant former St. Mary’s Hospital at 145 Fisk Ave., never brought forward his final plan, City Manager Bill Nicklas said Friday.

Sauser’s preliminary plan received unanimous support from the City Council in December 2022. But in the time since, no work has been done, and little communication has been had between city staff and the developer, according to city documents released ahead of Monday’s council meeting.

“It presents itself very poorly to the neighborhood,” Nicklas said Friday. “The neighborhood’s been waiting three years for something to happen.”

Instead, the building has remained vacant – as it has been since at least 1992.

It’s common municipal procedure for developers to put forward multiple iterations of the same plan. Plans must first go through the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission in a pre-development stage. Petitioners often share concept plans, seek land-use permit changes or detail steps needed in order to bring the development to life. Those early-stage plans go before the City Council once, as they did in 2022.

A second-round approval often is needed for what’s called a final development plan, when the final evolution of a project is presented and the council gives final approval.

But Sauser hasn’t done that, Nicklas said. He also has been fined more than once for not maintaining property upkeep according to city code, documents show.

Since Sauser’s 2022 proposal, no other developer has come forward to petition their own ideas, Nicklas said.

Sauser did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

According to the city, Sauser has “offered a number of reasons for not proceeding with the project” in the almost three years since he first brought it forward. In early 2023, Sauser blamed “post-COVID supply chain issues” and inflation as the primary reasons for the delay, according to the city.

The city manager said he spoke to Sauser this week, and the developer indicated that he’d attend Monday’s public hearing. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St.

According to the meeting agenda, the hearing is expected before a potential council vote, which could repeal the ordinance that greenlit Sauser’s proposal in the first place.

City officials have alleged that Sauser failed to submit final plans for his project and did not request an extension. He also faces $1,147 in property fines for violating city code, documents show. That hasn’t yet been paid as of Friday, Nicklas said.

On Oct. 28, a DeKalb city administrative hearing officer found Sauser guilty after he failed to properly close and secure the multistory Fisk Avenue building, according to city documents. By July 24, Sauser still had not properly secured the building according to an order from the hearing officer. Municipal code violations are not criminal charges, although they are subject to fines at the discretion of city code and the hearing officer.

Nicklas said part of securing the building was meant to discourage squatters or other unwelcome inhabitants.

“[T]he abandonment of any routine maintenance responsibility by the current owner does not inspire the confidence that a private remedy is at hand,” Nicklas wrote in city documents.

Nicklas is recommending that the City Council repeal the development ordinance approval and, in the future, commit to talks over alternative options and funding sources for redevelopment, documents show.

The LLC created for Sauser’s development, Fisk DeKalb LCC, was involuntarily dissolved June 9, 2023, according to city documents. That same LLC is listed in DeKalb County property records as the current owner for 145 Fisk Ave. as of Friday. The building lists a $47,222 taxable value, according to 2023 county property tax bill records. The building was sold to Fisk DeKalb LCC on March 18, 2022, for $225,000, records show.

The property was built in 1922, most notably as St. Mary’s Hospital. The hospital closed in 1965. The building has seen multiple uses in the years since. It once was a girl’s dormitory, and it also served as administrative offices for DeKalb School District 428.

The space has seen many development proposals over the years. None have been successful.