Scottish Rite purchase approved

Decatur’s commission approved a 15-year bond resolution allowing the Decatur Downtown Development Authority to purchase the Scottish Rite Hospital property—long rumored to be in foreclosure—for $1.45 million. According to Assistant City Manager Lyn Menne, it’s hoped that in two years the bond can be paid off and the property sold to a private buyer.

The immediate need, Menne said, is to find a tenant for the 3400 square-foot west wing formerly occupied by McGowan’s Pub. The remainder of the complex—constructed in 1920 and renovated in the late 1990s—is leased out, mostly to medical-related businesses.