California Precision Manufacturer Scouts Olney Savings Bldg

A California-based manufacturing company is spending the next two to three weeks evaluating the long-abandoned former Olney Savings and Loan building as a potential production site that could bring 50 to 75 jobs to Olney, according to Tom Parker, executive director of the Olney Economic Development Corporation.

Mr. Parker shared the update during the Jan. 12 meeting of the Olney City Council, telling council members that the unnamed company manufactures precision engine components for the automotive and boating industries and is seriously considering locating its operation in Olney.

“The manufacturing group for Olney Savings will be here,” Mr. Parker said, referring to the former bank building. “They plan to be here for two to three weeks. Preliminary engineering and assessment of the building is all still positive.”

Mr. Parker said environmental testing began over the weekend, with consultants collecting material samples from the building. Results were expected by the end of this week. He said the company is conducting engineering assessments at the same time and is also working with contractors to determine what renovations would be required to make the structure usable.

If the company chooses Olney, Mr. Parker has proposed transferring the title to the business to allow it to capitalize the building to offset the cost of rehabilitating it. The move would allow the City to return a long-vacant structure to productive use while reducing the company’s upfront investment.

The tan stucco building between East Main and East Hamilton Streets has been vacant since about 1995, seven years after Olney Savings and Loan failed, and was merged with 10 other defunct savings and loans to form the Olney Savings and Loan Association.

Olney Savings, established in 1927, moved into the 31,000-squarefoot structure in 1986 at the height of the U.S. thrift industry expansion. It once held assets of $1.3 billion, according to U.S. Bank Profiles. The Olney Savings and Loan Association changed its name to Am-West Savings Association in 1989 and moved its headquarters from Olney to Bryan, Texas in 1994, according to the U.S. Bank Locations website.

The property was purchased in 2002 by Austin businessman Majid Hemmasi. A 2013 affidavit filed during a property tax appeal described extensive vandalism and deterioration, including broken windows, roof leaks, stripped electrical wiring, mold and mildew contamination, and the absence of running water or electricity. The affidavit stated that the cost of repairs likely exceeded the building’s value.

That same year, the City cited the property as a substandard structure and began negotiating with Mr. Hemmasi to take control of the site, potentially for demolition. The Young County Appraisal Review Board reduced the building’s appraised value from $301,640 to $45,100 in 2013, a figure that remains largely unchanged in county tax records.

Mr. Hemmasi was fatally shot in 2017 in North Austin. Two men were later charged in what authorities described as a murder-for-hire plot. His heirs gifted the property back to the City in 2024 to settle the longstanding lawsuit over numerous code violations.

Mr. Parker told council members that recent progress marks a hopeful turn for a property that has long symbolized Olney’s post-thrift-era decline.

“We’re moving,” Mr. Parker said. “It’s a nice way to start the year. We’ll get there”