City to take possession of Olney Savings building
The Olney City Council on Monday agreed to end a decade-old legal battle over the former Olney Savings and Loan building at 300 E. Main St., long a derelict eyesore at the eastern entrance to the City.
The Council voted at a special called meeting to allow City Attorney Bill Myers to settle a lawsuit filed by the City in 2014 against the building’s owner, Majid Hemassi of Austin, and to execute documents that give the City possession of the building, City Attorney Bill Myers said.
“It’s a great day,” Mr. Myers said, after the Council voted unanimously to give him authorization to finalize the agreement with the heirs of Mr. Hemassi, who was shot to death in Austin in 2017. Mr. Hemassi’s heirs would have been unable to sell the building due to the City’s pending lawsuit and liens from unpaid civil penalties that Mr. Hemassi had racked up over the years by failing to keep the property up to code.
“We anticipate that the City will acquire the property and control of the property and the lawsuit will go away, affording the City the opportunity to do something with the property,” Mr. Myers said.
He said the City had been negotiating on and off with Mr. Hemassi and his estate for nine years, trying to acquire control and title of the property or to get it brought up to code. Mr. Hemassi’s heirs recently approached the City, asking to resolve the situation. “The City will acquire the property … and the lawsuit and the liens will be dismissed,” he said. Details of the settlement will be available in coming days when the legal documents are filed, he said.
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 building was purchased by Mr. Hemmasi on Feb. 27, 2002, according to a July 18, 2013 affidavit by Stephen R. Dunson, Senior Property Tax Consultant with the Texas Department of Licensing. Mr. Dunson also was the authorized agent for Mr. Hemmasi in a property tax appeal in which Mr. Hemmasi sought - and was granted - a reduction in the appraised value of the building on Sept. 17, 2013, according to public records. The county Appraisal Review Board reduced the building’s value from $301,640 to $45,100 – the same value assessed last year, according to county tax records.
Mr. Dunson’s affidavit reveals that the building in 2013 likely needed more work to be habitable than it was worth, and that Mr. Hemmasi was negotiating to donate the building to the City of Olney.
“There are numerous broken windows and the owner has reported that there are roof leaks throughout the property that have gone unfixed for years. … Within the interior recently all electrical wiring has been stripped by vandals. The main electrical panels have been stripped as well (interior and exterior). There is no running water or electricity to the property as it is unable to sustain it due to the vandalism. The sheetrock within the interior all needs to be replaced and abated by an environmental company due to its excessive mildew and mold. Any person entering the property should wear a self-contained breathing apparatus to protect themselves against the physical issues within the property itself,” the affidavit states.
The City of Olney cited the property on May 30, 2013, as a “substandard structure” has was negotiating with Mr. Hemassi to take over the property and demolish it, the affidavit said.
Mr. Hemmasi, 59, was shot to death in the parking lot of his North Austin fire equipment store, AAA Fire & Safety, on July 26, 2017. Two men were charged with murder in the alleged killing for hire.
An internet search showed that Mr. Hemmasi was associated with RDRH Holdings, which appeared to have extensive real estate holdings in several states.