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By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 12:44 p.m. EST, Nov 25, 2008
HUDSON: The company that holds the mortgage on the Hudson American Legion Post has filed foreclosure proceedings against the veterans' club.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of CapFinancial Properties of Coral Gables, Fla., charges the club is in default on its mortgage and owes $587,356 in principal, interest and late fees, according to a suit filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court before Judge Robert Gippin.
Summit County records also show the American Legion post owes more than $57,000 in real-estate taxes on the 8,000-square-foot facility.
The Lee Bishop American Legion Post 464 moved into a new building in 2004 at 5790 Hudson Road, after the city of Hudson purchased its old building on Clinton Street downtown to make way for the First & Main development.
The city gave the American Legion post three acres and $275,000 for its downtown property; the post also received $50,000 from developers Tom and Joy Murdough, said Jody Roberts, communications manager for the city.
John Frisby, a Hudson lawyer and a spokesman for the post, said of the foreclosure suit, ''It's kind of a sad deal.''
He said the post hasn't made a mortgage payment in a year.
''We don't have enough dollars coming in the door'' to make the mortgage payment or tax payments, he said.
The post, which dates to 1919, had been at different spots in town before moving into the Clinton Street site in the late 1940s. The building was torn down in 2003 as part of the redevelopment project.
Frisby said the economic predicament faced by the club is not unlike that faced by many families in Northeast Ohio.
''We're not really any different than the poor guy on North Hill that's losing his house,'' said Frisby, who handles many bankruptcies in his law practice.
''People can't pay their bills.''
Frisby, who served with the Marines in Vietnam, was not sure how long court proceedings could take.
Frisby said that along with the economy, the club has the challenge of an aging membership.
''The young people don't seem to come in as much,'' he said.
Another problem, he said, is the site is zoned as a meeting hall and not as a restaurant, which has made it difficult to sell the building.
Roberts said the city is ''disappointed to hear this is happening to the legion.''
''They've been a long-standing organization in the city that has been a tremendous benefit to the city,'' she said.
Roberts said the city would like to sit down with American Legion officials ''and see if there is anything the city can do to help them find another location in Hudson or in any way we could lend some assistance.''
She said the city would examine zoning issues involving the property as well.
''The city would work with anyone who is interested in purchasing that property,'' she said. ''We have a vested interest in having that building filled.''
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
HUDSON: The company that holds the mortgage on the Hudson American Legion Post has filed foreclosure proceedings against the veterans' club.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of CapFinancial Properties of Coral Gables, Fla., charges the club is in default on its mortgage and owes $587,356 in principal, interest and late fees, according to a suit filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court before Judge Robert Gippin.
Summit County records also show the American Legion post owes more than $57,000 in real-estate taxes on the 8,000-square-foot facility.
The Lee Bishop American Legion Post 464 moved into a new building in 2004 at 5790 Hudson Road, after the city of Hudson purchased its old building on Clinton Street downtown to make way for the First & Main development.
The city gave the American Legion post three acres and $275,000 for its downtown property; the post also received $50,000 from developers Tom and Joy Murdough, said Jody Roberts, communications manager for the city.
John Frisby, a Hudson lawyer and a spokesman for the post, said of the foreclosure suit, ''It's kind of a sad deal.''
He said the post hasn't made a mortgage payment in a year.
''We don't have enough dollars coming in the door'' to make the mortgage payment or tax payments, he said.
The post, which dates to 1919, had been at different spots in town before moving into the Clinton Street site in the late 1940s. The building was torn down in 2003 as part of the redevelopment project.
Frisby said the economic predicament faced by the club is not unlike that faced by many families in Northeast Ohio.
''We're not really any different than the poor guy on North Hill that's losing his house,'' said Frisby, who handles many bankruptcies in his law practice.
''People can't pay their bills.''
Frisby, who served with the Marines in Vietnam, was not sure how long court proceedings could take.
Frisby said that along with the economy, the club has the challenge of an aging membership.
''The young people don't seem to come in as much,'' he said.
Another problem, he said, is the site is zoned as a meeting hall and not as a restaurant, which has made it difficult to sell the building.
Roberts said the city is ''disappointed to hear this is happening to the legion.''
''They've been a long-standing organization in the city that has been a tremendous benefit to the city,'' she said.
Roberts said the city would like to sit down with American Legion officials ''and see if there is anything the city can do to help them find another location in Hudson or in any way we could lend some assistance.''
She said the city would examine zoning issues involving the property as well.
''The city would work with anyone who is interested in purchasing that property,'' she said. ''We have a vested interest in having that building filled.''
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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hudson, oh
Posted 02:08 PM, 11/25/2008
Inevitable. When the city brushed the veterans aside for shopping dollars, the writing was on the wall: Hudson doesn't care for it's veterans, they'd rather shop. The vets were slapped in the face when kicked out of their home of 60 years for a shopping 'district'. I hope Tom Murdough sees how he's hurt the city, not only it's veterans, with the "First and Main" greed development. I lived in Hudson 1962-2005, left because of all the idiots, the "Hudson Come Lately" crowd in their SUVs.
Posted 02:17 PM, 11/25/2008
Sorry to tell you, but the facts be known and the legion is just like all the other 'greedy' homeowners out there facing foreclosure...they went for a mortgage way beyond their means...the writing was on THAT wall the day they signed the deal...don't blame a development that has been good for the community.....the Murdough's treated them fairly...the Legion chose to pass up other more resonable locations within their budget...
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 02:39 PM, 11/25/2008
Another victim of Ohio's indoor smoking ban...
akron, oh
Posted 02:52 PM, 11/25/2008
Pay your bills or hit the road. Just because this is an American Legion doe not mean they are exempt from responsiblity.
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:43 PM, 11/25/2008
This is not just about tax money, property, or future development of Hudson or anywhere USA. Its about a simple place for veterans to get together and talk about problems and concern for each other. It seems to get easier to brush them aside after they have served there purpose and country. When you needed them they were there and went to countries all over the world to defend freedom and this country. They might lose this battle but they will always be "winners".
Posted 03:58 PM, 11/25/2008
Right with you Eric,,,,I am a Legionare,,,the smoking ban devestated our post.
Posted 04:49 PM, 11/25/2008
I knew some places would go under with the ban, but the real economy is trumping that issue, especially over the last year and a half. Hard to go drink in the face of $4/gallon gas and heavy food/medical bills....
Posted 05:13 PM, 11/25/2008
I was treated with disrespect when i returned from RVN, so i am used to the shabby way vets are treated. "No one thinks of the fireman till the house is burning down"
somewhere near you, OH
Posted 05:42 PM, 11/25/2008
No great loss, close it down. Most of these places only function as a place for elderly alcoholics to drink cheap booze.
If society was really interested in reducing drunk driving, all of these cheap drinking establishments, VFW, Eagles and their kind, would be closed or the police would pay more attention to their patrons. Why are veterans given a pass on drunk driving by the police????
Cuyahoga Falls, Oh
Posted 06:06 PM, 11/25/2008
And this is the thanks we Vet's get for going to fight battles on other country's shores to keep the buisness establishment afloat while we are thrown out.
Posted 06:32 PM, 11/25/2008
Alan. It is idiots like you that want to legislate every problem away. More nanny government. I say we eradicate everyone with your thought process, before you ruin our country, and we end up like Britain, trying to reduce steak knife deaths.
Posted 09:21 PM, 11/25/2008
Alan,,,,,kiss my 4th point of contact,,,you left wing pinko!!!
Posted 10:57 PM, 11/25/2008
alan,
That was a pretty dumb and tangential post. Why do you care how other people spend their time? And no one really gets a free pass on DUI anymore.
Posted 11:14 PM, 11/25/2008
I would say that Alan is a piece of trash, but that would be an insult to trash.
I am a Buckeye Boys State alumnus, my dad is a Vietnam vet, my grandpa was a WWII vet, and I greatly appreciate the American Legion.
It is pieces of trash like Alan that brave men fight and die for, and he will never appreciate that.
Zach Myers
President, XEKE.com
President, Myers Financial Resources, LLC
Posted 09:24 AM, 11/26/2008
There are two main reasons Lee Bishop is closing. First, they built a facility that was too big, beyond their means and without a viable business plan to sustain it. Second, is the mismanagement of a few self-centered, power mongering individuals who literally drove membership away over the years. It's an unfriendly place rife with corruption and seedy characters who have diminished the good name and purpose of the American Legion. Lee Bishop is not representative of the veterans organizations that I've become familiar with and I'm glad to see it go. Unfortunately, the same individuals who destroyed the Hudson post will live to see another day unless the American Legion Dept of Ohio pulls their charter once and for all. My advice to the city of Hudson is not to meet with them or help them find another location. Good riddance!
Regards,
Former Lee Bishop member and Iraq veteran proudly serving since 1980 and currently serving.
Posted 12:10 PM, 11/26/2008
The Hudson American Legion is not alone in its problems. Just ask the other verterans' clubs, all of which are suffering from aging and declining memberships.
This is so sad, but if any of them are to survive, they'll have to become very frugal and lean. They'll have to begin to run themselves like full-fledged businesses, consistently generating enough revenue to sustain themselves.
akron, oh
Posted 12:17 PM, 11/26/2008
There is no problem with like minded individuals gathering together to have a drink, etc. We all do it in one form or another. Nevertheless, just because this example serves veterans does not make it exempt from the laws of the economy. If you cannot pay the mortgage then sell and go down the street and have a drink somewhere else.
Posted 05:54 AM, 01/07/2009
I can't beleive that a veterans club is charged property taxes. Not where I live.
