BUILDING STILL IN LIMBO
'Ops' center sale not a done deal

Adelphia's former corporate offices in downtown Coudersport remain in limbo.

Officials from what's left of the bankrupt cable company that once employed upwards of 2,000 at the county seat remain tight-lipped when asked about status of the ornate structure on South Main Street.

Although a high bidder offered $3.6 during an auction that concluded early this month, there has been no closing on the deal and the potential buyer has not been identified.

A spokesman from Internet action company LFC Group said the building is "on a fasttrack for quick disposal," amid rumors that the high bidder is not going to be able to close.

It's possible that the buyer was a "flipper" interested in buying the building because $3.6 million seemed like a good price and then re-selling it for a profit. The four-story building cost nearly $30 million to construct in 2000- 01.

Numerous potential buyers have shown an interest in the Operations Building. Several, including a Watsontown company eying the facility for a transportation logistics headquarters, toured the property.

It's located in a Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone, established by the state with the cooperation of Coudersport Borough, Coudersport Area School District and the Potter County Commissioners. KOIZ properties are exempt from real estate taxes.

Adelphia has made annual payments to those three taxing bodies in lieu of taxes under a signed agreement.

About 20Adelphia employees remain on duty in Coudersport. They recently vacated the Operations Center and are now occupying modular offices on Water Street.

Adelphia last year selected LFC to sell most of its remaining real estate assets. Proceeds are being used to settle with creditors as the bankrupt company dissolves.

Buyers have been found for some of the Coudersport properties. Krise Bus Service has acquired the former Kightlinger Motors lot at Mill and Dwight streets, where the company will store and service some of its school buses.

A separate parcel, the former International Paper Company office and warehouse on East Second Street, near Goodenough Plaza, has been sold to the Potter County Redevelopment Authority and is being leased to AP Wagner.

Adelphia continues under the management of Quest Turnaround Advisors, a bankruptcy plan administrator, to liquidate its assets. Almost all of Adelphia's assets were sold to Time Warner and Comcast in July 2006.