Close, but not sold
Former MacGregor’s building in limbo
Staff writer
A former restaurant building at 301 E. Main St. in Marion that has been sitting empty since 2017 may soon be in the hands of a new owner — but the deal has not been closed yet.
The former MacGregor’s building is under contract with South Central Kansas Economic Development District and closing is expected in mid-November, according to Marion economic development director Randy Collett.
The potential buyers who made an offer on the building need to “do some legwork” before closing the deal, Collett said.
He declined to name them because the purchase has not been closed.
When former owners Joe and E.J. Pickett bought the building at 3rd and Main Sts. in 2016, they obtained $115,000 in loans and spent more than a year working on the building before opening it as a restaurant in May 2017.
After only a few days in operation, MacGregor’s closed because of fire code violations.
It never reopened, and the failed restaurant was signed over to creditor South Central Kansas Economic Development District, which gave them two loans totaling $60,000 and underwrote $40,000 in loans from the Marion e-Community program.
SCKEDD listed the building for sale.
The Picketts also received a $15,000 Department of Agriculture microloan.
The county appraiser’s website lists the value of the property at $61,150.
Steve Wilkinson, executive director of SCKEDD, did not respond to a call seeking comment for this story.