The old hospital downtown is in foreclosure with a judgement amount of $1.3 million.

Listed on the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office Foreclosure Sales website page, the sale date is Nov. 4. Sheriff Joel Phillips said it was originally Oct. 7. The reason for the postponement was not given, but he said it could be for reasons such as finances or contractual issues.

A property for sale this large and for that amount is something the sheriff’s office has dealt with on a limited basis. Phillips said those properties typically are agricultural.

“It is not often business properties to this extent,” he said. “It is unusual for this type of property to come up for a sheriff’s sale.”

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office will not receive a percentage of the sale. The only financial amount they will receive is from gathering the posting fees, which are $10. Phillips said they have to post before the sale date, and they did so on Aug. 28.

He stressed “buyer beware.”

“They can’t come look at and walk through the property,” Phillips said. “They are buying it unseen. That is part of the risk people take with sheriff sales.”

He said deputies will not enter the property to ensure occupants are out, but will attempt to contact potential occupants by posting the sale notice on the door. There are rumors of homeless individuals living in the hospital facility. If Phillips said that is correct, it will be up to the new owner to remove them.

“From time to time, we will find a piece of property with tenants who are illegally there,” he said. “However, with this property, it should be vacant.”

Phillips said the new hospital owner will also be responsible for any additional money owed, such as utilities.

“They are taking on the debt of what is owed,” he said. “There may be additional fees, which is why sheriff sale properties are not without risk.”

The $1.3 million is not the lowest amount it could be sold for. Phillips said the property, owned by Scott Covalt of Dike, could go for $1. Even with the condition of the hospital — broken windows, standing water, possible asbestos — the sheriff said someone will more than likely bid on it.

“We have never had a property that has not been sold,” he said. “At least I have never seen a property not be sold.”

Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer said the city does not have a big role in the old hospital situation.

What will happen next is a good question, and Greer said it does not have a good answer. One possibility is that the city will acquire the property since it is dilapidated. That is a route the city has traveled before, he said, with the Ibiza Nightclub building, which was demolished.

If that happens, Greer does not want to know what the price tag will be.

“I want to retire as mayor before that answer comes,” he said. “Ibiza was not as large as the old hospital, and not as big of a challenge. Voters do not want to know the price, and they do not want the responsibility of paying for the demolition and rehabilitation of that space.”

If whoever purchases the property does develop in the future, Greer said it is the perfect location for a downtown hotel, with or without a convention center; a brand new apartment complex with a swimming pool and a pickleball court; or a nice park with trees.

“Maybe we have more parks than we need, and we might have to phase out one or two of the smaller ones in order to do that,” he added.

The mayor added that his preference would be a hotel first, followed by a park and then the apartments.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com