Crandall buys 3 acres at Fourth and Frederica

April 07--Ken Crandall made one of the largest private land purchases in downtown Owensboro in recent years Friday when he bought the 3.09-acre property at Fourth and Frederica streets from the Harry Holder estate.

It covers half a city block.

The property is now leased to Steve Jones Chrysler Dodge Jeep.

And Crandall said Jones will continue to lease the property for the immediate future.

"We don't have plans for the property yet," Crandall said of himself and his family. "It's an investment. It's a great piece of property. It's the biggest piece available downtown."

He declined to say what he paid for the property.

"We spent a lot of money, but we got a good buy," Crandall said.

The property was assessed for tax purposes at $1.82 million.

The asking price was $2.1 million.

"There's a lot of potential for that site," Joe Berry, the former downtown development director who is now executive vice president of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp., said Thursday.

"Fourth and Frederica is one of the busiest intersection in town," he said. "There's been a lot of activity in that block in recent years -- the renovation of the Empress Theatre and the opening of Bill's Restaurant, which has become a dining destination for a lot of people."

Berry said, "That's a big block in the middle of downtown. Developers go where the market is, and there's a real market downtown now."

He said he's heard talk about the possibility of building a new judicial center there if the state approves a new judicial center for Owensboro.

Crandall also owns the old Texas Gas building at 416 W. Third St. and a former law office at 207 W. Second St.

Both are for rent.

"We've renovated the old Texas Gas headquarters and changed the name to 3rd West," Crandall said. "It has 20,000 square feet of office space for rent and two parking lots. My son, Jeremy Crandall, is the property manager. People can call him at 270-929-0473."

Crandall owns Carpets Unlimited, Shawnee Park Shopping Center on Scherm Road and Village West Shopping Center on Carter Road, as well as other properties in the county.

The 400 block of Frederica was a busy place in the first half of the 20th century.

The Holland Building, a four-story brick office building, took up most of the northern half of the block where the car lot is now.

It burned on Nov. 16, 1954.

And the Bleich Theatre was between the Holland Building and the Empress from 1922 to 1956.

Downtown dreamers are hoping for the days when more foot traffic returns to that block.

Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, [email protected]

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