WOODSFIELD — Monroe County officials hope to transform a recently purchased building into a community center.

During a special meeting in late May, Monroe County Commissioners Mick Schumacher, Diane Burkhart and Bill Bolon finalized the purchase of the former Safe Auto Insurance Co. building located on Black Walnut Parkway in Woodsfield. The building was listed at $600,000; however, commissioners were able to purchase it for $300,000.

Schumacher said the business closed its doors to the public last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually the insurance company decided it would not reopen the location and instead opted to sell the facility, he said.

“It’s been sitting vacant ever since,” he said.

Schumacher said the board has been working toward acquiring the nearly 10,000-square-foot building for the past couple of months.

“We wanted to finalize everything before the end of May to keep a particular price,” he said. “If we closed before the end of May it was going to be $300,000, but it went over into June it was going to be $350,000, so we didn’t want to take any chances.”

The money to purchase the building will come out of the general fund, Schumacher said. He said the board financed it through a local bank, where it will make monthly payments on the building.

The idea to purchase the building came after commissioners had given permission for a recently formed sports shooting club for students to utilize an area near the parking lot of the soccer field. It turns out the county did not own the property and the club was unable to practice in the area.

Schumacher said once they found out the property was not owned by the county and the building was up for sale, they decided to make an offer.

“We thought it would be a great place for activities, for kids of all ages,” he said.

Schumacher said they plan to turn the building into a community center that will involve activities for students and seniors.

“It’s going to be a multi-use opportunity center for the community. We’re still in the beginning stages of what exactly we want to do. We have several ideas,” he added.

Schumacher said the commissioners are looking forward to the possibilities that the facility could bring to the residents of the county.

“We are all very excited about it. With the price of materials and everything now, there’s no way you could build it for that price. Were very glad they gave us the option and we were able to move on it. A lot of people helped to pull this together. We’re ready to move ahead,” he added.