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Deal involving DirecTV, MCTC hinges on auction
HUNTINGTON -- A potential deal to put Marshall Community and Technical College in the Arch Coal Building and move DirecTV's call center from that building to a nearby location is in the works.
But a lot depends on a foreclosure auction next week for the Ames building, which sits along W.Va. 152 and below the Arch Coal Building, says a local developer working on the deal.
"If someone outbids me at the auction, then the deal falls apart," said Bob Childers, owner of Childers Properties. "But if we can complete this and get a long-term tenant in MCTC on top of that hill and solid jobs on the bottom of the hill, then Huntington is going to be way ahead."
Childers' plan would put DirecTV's call center in the Ames building.
The foreclosure auction is set for noon Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Cabell County Courthouse.
The Ames building and adjoining property have been tangled in a complex real estate deal for several years. Childers, who most recently developed the East Hills Professional Center on U.S. 60, is attempting to unravel it.
The city of Huntington owns the building and surrounding land, but in name only. Kimco Realty Corp., a real estate investment trust that specializes in shopping centers, bought the 19-acre piece of property from Ashland Oil in 1982.
Kimco then deeded the property to the city so the corporation could use the city's municipal bonding authority to sell bonds and give it the financing package it needed to build the building.
But in doing so, the city gave up all of its rights to the property. That left Kimco with controlling rights to the parking lot and a group of bondholders with controlling rights to the building. As a result, interested developers have had to negotiate with two separate entities.
Childers said he has a purchase agreement with Kimco for the parking lot. The only missing puzzle piece is the Ames building, which he said he is determined to acquire at the auction.
If Childers is the winning bidder, it will trigger a series of moves, he said.
DirecTV will move its 700-employee call center from the Arch Coal Building to the Ames building. That would be a plus for Huntington because the Ames building is located within city limits, meaning the city could collect user and municipal fees. The Arch Coal Building is just outside Huntington's boundaries.
Childers said he is negotiating terms on an agreement with DirecTV to move to the Ames building should he acquire the property. The company prefers the Ames building because it's a one-floor plan, which meets its business model, he said. The company is operating on several floors of the Arch Coal Building. It also wants to remain in the Huntington area because it's pleased with the work force, he said. The Ames property would be remodeled and ready for DirecTV use by October 2010.
DirecTV officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
MCTC would move to the Arch Coal Building once DirecTV vacated the site, Childers said. MCTC is seeking a new location because of its separation from Marshall University, in accordance with a 2008 state law aimed at making the state's community and technical colleges more focused on work force development.
MCTC President Keith Cotroneo declined to comment on the potential deal, but said the Arch Coal Building is one of the college's preferred sites. Other locations are still being evaluated as well, he said.
The only way MCTC will move to the Arch Coal Building, however, is if DirecTV finds a suitable location in the Huntington area, Cotroneo said.
"If our board of governors chooses the Arch Coal Building, it has to be a win-win situation for us, DirecTV and the local community in terms of keeping all of those jobs," he said. "Otherwise, the college will not pursue that option at all."
Whatever location MCTC chooses, Cotroneo envisions the college having satellite campuses in other parts of the Huntington area.
"We have looked at expanding our presence in downtown Huntington," he said. "We already have multiple locations, so a community college that has satellite branches or campuses is likely a future scenario for us."
The MCTC Board of Governors should make a decision on a location and new name for the college by the end of the year, he said.
