Cooper Center up for sale -- but current residents not gone just yet

Feb. 27—The venerable building that stands on the corner of North Main Street and East Columbia Street in downtown Somerset has been a number of things over its century-plus of existence, including the post office, the public library, and most recently, a community arts hub.

And now, it seems, it will be entering the next stage of its existence — though those currently using it are not quite ready to close the curtains on the John Sherman Cooper Community Arts Center just yet.

The building is still owned by the Pulaski County Public Library, which moved into a new facility on South Main Street in March of 2008. Shortly thereafter, the North Main structure was reintroduced as the Carnegie Community Arts Center, and in 2021, the name was changed to reflect the legacy of the late U.S. Senator John Sherman Cooper in this community.

The life of the Carnegie-Cooper Center as a non-profit entity has not been an easy one though. Directors have come and gone, some only there for a short amount of time, and popular programming as well. Maintenance has been constantly needed, and sometimes unable to be obtained in a timely fashion. Raising funds even just to pay bills has been a challenge, and there was even a lapse in insurance, which was a breach of lease terms.

And recently, the Library Board decided it was time to close the book on the Cooper Center.

"We are looking to sell the building," said Pulaski County Public Library Director Charlotte Keeney. "The library can't maintain our new facility plus this one.

"The (lease) agreement when we let the arts (community) take over said that they would maintain the building like what the federal government did to us when we went into that building (as the library)," she added. "We had to maintain it and use it as a library for so many years. We kind of did the same lease agreement with them, except we didn't put a year on it. We just told them that they needed to maintain the building, and they've really struggled with that. ... We've got to do something. It's just going to keep deteriorating because the Library Board, the district, does not have money to sink into that."

Keeney said the library, which is funded by taxes, has put several thousand dollars toward a new roof and electrical and plumbing fixes, but "where we drew the line was (with) the new air conditioning. It was going to cost way too much for us to do that."

Efforts were made by the Cooper Center to raise money for that purpose — for instance, a holiday season "cookie walk," where people could come by and buy donated cookies with the aim of fundraising for the air conditioner repair.

But things haven't gotten much better — "The building is deteriorating on the outside," said Keeney. "It makes me really sad to see it in that kind of shape" — and at the last meeting of the Library Board earlier this month, members made "the tough decision" to sell the property to someone that can maintain it, said Keeney. She noted that the matter has been discussed for a longer time than that, but the decision was actually made this month.

Keeney told the Commonwealth Journal that there is not a buyer lined up as of yet.

"That's what I'm working on right now," said Keeney with a laugh. "I've never sold a building.

"We've not really started talking to people or anything about it. We're just in the beginning phases of trying to get it together. We want to make sure everything's on the up and up. We want it as transparent as it can be."

Keeney said she's working with the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives to see how the transaction needs to be properly made.

"We want to do it right," said Keeney. "We want to do the right thing."

Ideally speaking, the building will be sold to someone who will keep it intact, said Keeney.

"In fact, there will probably be some stipulations in the sale (to make sure of that)," she said. "We've not worked all this out yet, but there will probably be some stipulations, kind of like the federal government gave to us when we went in there. It's harder to do with a private sale, but if the county wanted the building, we would work with them."

Rather than actively searching for a buyer, "people are calling me," said Keeney.

Whatever the fate of the Cooper Center, those who spent countless hours and efforts keeping it running from inside the building aren't quite ready to leave — at least not Deb Stringer, who has served in recent years as a director of the facility.

Stringer had a conversation within the last couple of weeks with Keeney, after providing her with the electric bill for the Cooper — the City of Somerset pays for the Cooper's water, sewer and garbage pick-up bills, for which Stringer thanked the city "very much with all my heart, because we need all the help we can get." Then the following exchange occurred, according to Stringer.

"Charlotte asked me to get two years' worth of utilities, how much (they) cost, so I took them to her," said Stringer. "And when I handed them to her, she said, had I talked to the tenants about leaving the premises? And I said no. She said, 'Well, we're planning on selling the building,' and I said, 'Well, it is not sold yet.' She says, 'Well, we're going to sell it.' And I said, 'Well, it hasn't sold yet.' Then she goes, 'Well, I will have my lawyers send you a letter,' and I said, 'Well, you have your lawyers send our lawyer a letter and they will take care of that.' And that was all that was said.

"So nobody said anything about the tenants leaving, they're just in the process," she added. "They had somebody looking at the building. The building hasn't sold yet. Nothing was said about the tenants leaving. And Charlotte is just assuming that it's going to sell. I guess she's grateful, hopeful. And I'm grateful, hopeful that it's not going to sell."

Stringer said that while that type of conversation — which took place a couple of weeks ago — has "been expected" and they've known about the possibility of leaving "for quite a while, nothing has ever been done about it, and then all of a sudden, it just pops up." She said that Keeney was wanting to show the building to a "possibility of a buyer."

Said Stringer, "There's no sense in my artists and my tenants leaving if the building's not sold, because they still need a place to have their business."

The Cooper currently has 20 in-house tenants and about 10 groups who use it regularly for events open to the public, including the Lake Cumberland Blues Society and 3rd Friday Folk.

Keeney said in addressing Stringer that that they've had similar discussions before about vacating the facility at the time of the insurance lapse, which was resolved when the necessary insurance was obtained.

"They have known for a long time that the chances of them being able to stay there" weren't 100 percent, noted Keeney. She said she'd gone to a Cooper Center Board meeting and said that they needed to let tenants — those who rent space for art studios or other purposes — know that there's a possibility the building will be sold.

There's not currently a deadline for Cooper tenants to leave, but Keeney's goal was to make sure they were aware of the situation, she noted.

Does Stringer think that there's a possibility that the Cooper won't be sold? "I'm still hoping," she said, "but it's going to take a lot of money to fix it up, and we still don't have air conditioning. It still needs to be rewired. It's 113 years old. Every time you turn around, a water pipe breaks. We've had two or three water pipes break this year, and we're just into February."

Stringer said that she's heard rumors "they want to make a bar out of it" but she doesn't know anything for certain about any plans for the building.

"I do know they're not going to have it as a non-profit," she said. "I do know that it's not going to be cheap, and I do know that (the Cooper Center) is one of the cheapest places to have a party or an event or a studio that's in Somerset right now, for anything that's going on in town.

"Are we competition (for) anything that's going on in town? No, we're not competition," she added. "We're just trying to survive and keep the lights on."

Kyle Kadel, who operates the International Paranormal Museum and Research Center in the lower level of the Cooper Center, told the Commonwealth Journal that as both a tenant and someone who "deeply cares" for the building, its preservation is a primary concern of his.

"I want to make sure everything is done the right way," he said. "And whoever the owners of this historic place may be, I genuinely hope the occupants will continue to keep this building open for the community (for the) foreseeable future. The arts organization has been a successful incubator for artists, musicians, and organizations, helping bring power to our local citizens and community, and should continue to function in that facet."

Though there is some discrepancy about the status among those the Commonwealth Journal talked to, it appears the building may be on the National Register of Historic Places inventory by virtue of being part of a North Main Street Historic District. Marty Perry, National Register Coordinator with the Kentucky Heritage Council, told the Commonwealth Journal that the current Cooper Center structure is on that national register, and sent a document showing that, though it's labeled a "nomination form" and is marked from the 1980s.

However, that wouldn't necessarily prevent a buyer from making drastic changes to the building — even tearing it down, apparently.

"There are none," said Perry when asked if being on the register would carry any limitations on what can be done with the building for a potential buyer. "There are no limitations on it as a condition of the National Register. Now, there could be limitations on it that the Library Board, who is the owner, or the city or the county (might put on it). Any one of those administrative entities could put conditions on the sale. But the National Register status of the building doesn't impose anything.

"There's nothing about the National Register status that prohibits them from tearing it down," he added. "Now, there could be some kind of local law that Somerset has or Pulaski County has, that many Kentucky towns do have. That could prevent this thing from being torn down, but it wouldn't be because of the National Register, it would be because of some local law."

The Commonwealth Journal spoke to Pulaski County Attorney Martin Hatfield and Somerset City Attorney John Adams, and it doesn't appear that any such local policies are in place, according to what they're aware of concerning the matter. Keeney believed the documents may relate to efforts by the Downtown Somerset Development Corporation (DSDC) from the '80s, and wasn't certain if they had ever come to fruition.

Gib Gosser, a figure involved with the DSDC for a long time, said that there are several districts downtown that are on the National Register, though he doesn't believe any were created after he got to the DSDC in the 1990s. He believes it's likely that the Cooper Center is among those properties included, but again, depending on the conditions under which the building is sold, it isn't necessarily protected, he observed.

"Yes and no, it depends on who you are," said Gosser. "Private enterprise can do what they want to with it. Look at the Richardson House next door to the old library. It was on the National Register, one of the most historic buildings in downtown. It was owned by a bank, which is not a government agency. They tore it down. They had every right to do that. Had it been owned by the city or the state or the federal (government), they would have had to jump through a lot of hoops and prove that it needed to be torn down before they could do that. So it just really depends on whether it's a government entity or private enterprise."

While the future of the Cooper Center may be uncertain at present, Stringer is determined to do everything she can to keep it as a part of the downtown Somerset landscape for as long as possible.

"At this point in time, they'll have to unchain the front doors of the Cooper if they try to sell it or anything else," said Stringer. "You can quote me on that. I will go down fighting."