Shawnee County OKs purchase of building housing Evel Knievel Museum and Harley-Davidson

Keishera Lately, Topeka Capital-Journal

Shawnee County commissioners Bill Riphahn, Aaron Mays and Kevin Cook on Thursday unanimously agreed to purchase the building that currently houses the Evel Knievel Museum and Historic Harley-Davidson at 2047 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

"We'll come back to you to execute the contract and give an order to the tele company to close on the property," county counselor Rich Eckert told commissioners.

Building owner Mike Patterson said the historic dealership no longer serves the modern guidelines required by the Harley-Davidson corporation. Evel Knievel's family plans to move the museum to Las Vegas in 2024.

Shawnee County commissioners approved the process of purchasing the building that currently houses the Evel Knievel Museum and Historic Harley-Davidson dealership.
Shawnee County commissioners approved the process of purchasing the building that currently houses the Evel Knievel Museum and Historic Harley-Davidson dealership.

What will Shawnee County use the building for?

The building is expected to be used for Shawnee County mechanics and other potential county operations.

"This has the potential of allowing us to initially use the building for the purposes of perhaps moving the sheriff's shop to that location," Eckert said.

The total purchase price is $2,907,600. Eckert said the county would be buying the building at the Shawnee County appraised value.

More: Shawnee County may buy site housing Evel Knievel Museum and Harley-Davidson for garage

This is a decision that will take us some time to get in the building. For a significant period of time, it will look like nothing's changed," Eckert said. "This is a situation where we're looking for the long-term interest of our county. This is a long-term benefit to us.

"There's a substantial benefit to perhaps one day having the sheriff's substation or more next to the Stormont Vail Events Center."

Signing the contract agreement will begin a due diligence period of 90 days. In that time, Shawnee County will have a chance to walk through the building and check the HVAC system, roof, foundation and more, Eckert said.

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Shawnee County to buy building of Evel Knievel Museum, Harley-Davidson

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