The city of Kingston is selling to a local nonprofit for $1 a building that formerly was home to a restaurant and bar. Kingston acquired the property in a tax foreclosure proceeding. The two-story wood frame building at 46 Grand St. was constructed in 1950 and contains approximately 3,122 square feet of space.
The building housed the now-closed Grand Slam Restaurant and Bar and is on a parcel that is 47 feet by 100 feet. A tax assessor had valued the property at about $235,000.
Kingston”™s Common Council on Aug. 2 approved transferring the building to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Beyond the 4 Walls, which plans to relocate its headquarters from 14 Van Buren St. in Kingston to the Grand Street building.
“In reviewing our tax foreclosed properties, I identified the former Grand Slam Restaurant and Bar on Grand Street as a potential location for Beyond the 4 Walls to establish their free thrift store and community outreach program operation,” Mayor Steven T. Noble told the Common Council. “It is my understanding that this property would not be used for housing purposes and will retain the current commercial-type use, but in this case as a wonderful nonprofit asset to our community.”
Noble said that the new deed transferring title on the property to the nonprofit should include a “reverter” clause that would allow the city to take back the property if and when the nonprofit ever stopped using it for its work or ceased to exist.
Greg McCollough, executive director and president of Beyond the 4 Walls, said that he founded the organization in 2018 to provide needy families with clothing, food, household items and furniture items for free. He added that the organization also has educational and development events.
“We want to see our neighbors not just survive but thrive,” McCollough said. “The donation of the building at 46 Grand St. by the city of Kingston to our nonprofit organization will allow us to expand into a safe and comfortable space that can be kept clean, accessible and more available.”
McCollough said that the organization would be assembling a team of volunteers with carpentry, electrical, plumbing and other skills to update the building as needed in order to make it ready to become the organization”™s new headquarters.
“Right now, our space has become too small on Van Buren Street, and we struggle to keep everything dry during weather events,” McCollough said. “This makes it difficult to stay up to code with city regulations; a dry location on Grand Street will definitely fix this situation.”
