Progress is being made after a stalemate between the City of Lexington and Rick Hawkins, the owner of derelict buildings in downtown Lexington.
At the city council meeting on July 10, Peter Steckel, Hawkins’ attorney, announced the signing of a new contract that will begin work on rebuilding the roof of the building at 112 W. Main St. in the next two weeks.
The contractor, Martin Martinez, will reinforce the building’s structure, rebuild the roof and will potentially rework and repaint the building’s front, Steckel said.
The new contract comes after the previous contractor and Hawkins couldn’t come to an agreement on repairing the buildings and parted ways several weeks ago.
“The goal is to stabilize the buildings, to keep them from deteriorating anymore, and to get the city to leave him in peace,” said Kathrine Clark, Hawkins’ local representative.
Hawkins has owned six buildings, 110, 112, 114, 116 and 118 W. Main St. and 111 N. Gilmer St., since 1994. They initially had tenants, but as the buildings needed more repairs, Hawkins couldn’t afford to keep them in shape and tenants left.
Clark has been working with Hawkins to search for contractors, including ones as far away as Macon, and scouting out buyers for the buildings in her role as Hawkins’ liaison with the community.
Hawkins used to live in Athens, but now lives on Tybee Island and rarely visits Lexington following what Clark called several instances of harassment in the past. He’s been back to meet with inspectors, but largely uses Steckel for legal issues and Clark to speak on his behalf.
“(In the 1990s and 2000s), he was receiving threats and harassment from people who allegedly lived in Lexington … he claimed there were death threats,” Clark said. “He's quit coming. He said, ‘I'm not coming to Lexington. I'm not coming to Lexington. People want to kill me in Lexington.’ And you know, that may be exaggerated, but that’s what he felt.”
Lexington Mayor Ronnie Boggs said Lexington has worked with Hawkins “with hopes that he would continue to improve his buildings.”
“If not, we don't have many options,” Boggs added.
From the city’s perspective, not enough work has been done since the city council began asking Hawkins to make consistent progress on restoring the buildings or face fines. Craig Snow, the previous mayor, had looked into legal action, including the use of eminent domain before he resigned in May.
“Lexington, basically, is a 19th century village frozen in time. Preservationists love Lexington because it has not changed,” Boggs said. “The master plan should get final improvement on all the artwork … some great plans and thoughts there, but until we can get some control of these things, a plan is nothing but a vision that looks good on paper, that can't be implemented because of the property owner.”
Boggs said he hopes that progress on the buildings will help bring in new businesses and maintain Lexington’s charm.
Clark said the buildings are still for sale and interested buyers “can talk to Mr. Hawkins personally,” she said.
The properties at 110, 112, 114 and 116 W. Main St. aren’t listed. Hawkins is keeping 118 W. Main St. and 111 N. Gilmer St. to use as storage, and 118 had its roof repaired and stabilized.
Clark said Hawkins doesn’t want to be a landlord and is looking to stabilize and repair the buildings before selling them or sell them prior to repairs at a lower price.
Hawkins wants $200,000 for 110 W. Main St., which has a repaired roof. He has also set a price of $200,000 each for 112, 114 and 116 after they’re repaired.
The Main Street buildings were listed on Facebook Marketplace for $350,000 in January 2023, The Oglethorpe Echo reported, but Clark said that listing didn’t receive interest.
The combined assessed value of the properties in 2024 was $147,000, according to public records.
“He doesn’t appreciate it when people call and offer him $100,000 for all of the buildings. That’s kind of insulting,” Clark said. “Even though they are not in shape, they still represent some key real estate in the city, and it’s just going to take the right person.”