How Much Does 10 Liquor Icenses Increase A Value Of A Historic Jail?

[historicplace]

Sorry for the length. Indiana has a law on the books that allow a city/town 10 additional liquor licenses if they meet a four part criteria. In a nutshell, these are *use it or lose it* licenses. If a business fails, they do not retain the license. It’s nontransferable. They city/town can issue to another business, for a price.

IC 7.1-3-20-16 (g) criteria reads as following:
(1) The district has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places maintained under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended.
(2) A county courthouse is located within the district.
(3) A historic opera house listed on the National Register of Historic Places is located within the district.
(4) A historic jail and sheriff's house listed on the National Register of Historic Places is located within the district.

I own the historic jail mentioned in #4.

The town has formed a committee around this law & currently have secured approximately 20 million in grant money giving the downtown district a facelift so to speak. 2 of the 10 licenses have been issued & another application been filed for the 3rd.

The town reluctantly has expressed interest in buying my jail in order to secure its future growth. (I may have expressed interest in tearing it down.) They said they will have my jail appraised by 2 companies and can only offer the average of the 2. This was 4 to 5 months ago. When asked, the mayor said they are finding it hard to find a comparable on a historic jail. They are very tight lipped about it.

I feel the liquor licenses are what gives my building its value. If I tear it down, the 10 liquor licenses go away. I told my realtor I need to increase my asking price. It is currently listed based on what has sold in the historic district in last 18 months. My realtor feels I would kill any deal if I relist for more money. I feel the town NEEDS my building standing in order to move forward. How do you determine the value for something like this?

Am I looking at this wrong? What should I do?

 

[Pittsburgh Pete]

Are you permitted to tear down a structure on the National Register of Historic Places?

 

[historicplace]

Are you permitted to tear down a structure on the National Register of Historic Places?

Yes. I checked with the regional director over the National Historic Register.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

Are the liquor licenses transferable to another party?

 

[historicplace]

Are the liquor licenses transferable to another party?

Not by the business who receives one. Only the town can reissue it to another party, if a business fails or does not comply with the IC or town ordinances. The town maintains control over the licenses.

 

[historicplace]

These 10 licenses are in addition to the ones already here that are population based. I believe the law was enacted (in 2005) to breathe life back into small towns who do not have the advantages of larger cities.

 

[historicplace]

This is the Indiana Code that explains the law: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2016/ic/titles/7.1/

Look up IC 7.1-3-20-16 (g)

 

[Rick Stillman]

You say that it is not transferable, and if the structure is torn down, the licenses go away.

Wow. Talk about restrictions.

They way I read this is if I buy the jail, the licenses go away. If you retain ownership but tear it down, the licenses go away also.

So I'd say there is no "marketable" value to anyone but you, if I understand this correctly.

It sounds like a miserable attempt to stimulate business by clueless bureaucrats. Who needs ten licenses? Overkill. Encourage growth or development, that IS transferable. This sounds like a good way to keep small towns small - very small.

 

[JTip]

Probably cost you $7,500 and 30 days for a professional answer.

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I just saw a recent PLCB sale list of some LL in our state. Hundreds of thousands of dollars........insane.....

 

[Michael S]

Liquor licenses here in New Mexico go for around $350,000 but that probably doesn't mean much in Indiana. On the other hand a brewery can get a small brewer's license for a few thousand dollars and open up to three tap rooms where they can serve beer (aka bars).