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City approves sale of RTC parcels
Agreement with CDG to be signed by end of the year
Published 12:00 p.m., December 16, 2008
Agreements approved by the Fergus Falls City Council Monday detail the sale of Regional Treatment Center property to developers, but leave the specifics of their project intentionally vague.
That’s because members of Campus Development Group (CDG) will lay out their plans for an international business college in the one key document aldermen have yet to see: the development agreement for Parcel D, the Kirkbride.
The city council on Monday authorized three agreements for Parcels A, B and D that will be signed by the end of the year — these agreements are two sale agreements and one development agreement with CDG.
The first document was the purchase agreement for Parcels A and B — the nursing cottages and the buildings south of the Veterans Home, respectively. The sale price of each property is based on a RTC appraisal completed by The Valuation Group, Inc. in early December: $70,000 for Parcel A and $1 for Parcel B, which has continually devalued.
As part of the deal, the city commits part of its state funds to the removal of the campus’ tunnel system and reservoir within a year of the agreement’s June 30, 2009 closing date.
“So you’re not committing the city to take any money out of your own pocket, so to speak,” said Kent Mattson, attorney for the city on the RTC sale. “It’s all grant funds.”
Those dollars also cover work like asbestos abatement and demolition, said City Administrator Mark Sievert, and will be available to the city for four years from July 2009.
“In our grant agreement, it basically said if we had all these agreements in place (by Dec. 31) we had to initiate public improvements by July 1 or we had to initiate demolition by Aug. 1,” he said.
The second key document approved Monday was the development agreement for Parcels A and B, which makes little mention of the college project. Instead it lays out a timeline for CDG to present renovated and possibly new buildings in a “marketable condition for tenants and/or buyers who will use such space for retail, office and/or public institutions.” CDG must develop 10,000 square feet within one year of the agreement’s signing, 20,000 square feet within three years and 30,000 square feet within five years.
The development agreement for Parcel A and B contains general wording to allow CDG more time to finalize the college project, Sievert said. That project will be described in a development agreement for the Kirkbride due before June 30, 2009.
The third document approved Monday was the purchase agreement for the Kirkbride. The appraisal for that property has not been completed, but Sievert said he expects the property has devalued so much it will sell for $1.
Monday’s authorizations from the council mean Sievert and Mayor Russ Anderson will sign the purchase agreements for Parcels A, B and D and the development agreement for A and B before the Dec. 31 deadline. The state is aware of the 2009 closing date, Sievert said last week.
No one from the public spoke at hearings on the sales.
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The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post. To post a comment you will need to register. Or, if you're already registered but have not included your true, verifiable identity with your registration, you will need to update your account to include your identity. Effective Dec. 1, 2009, all posts appear with the commenter's true identity, which must be verified by site staff. Those who registered prior to Dec. 1, 2009, should be aware that once you update your information with your true identity, all prior posts under your user name will also indicate your true identity. If you do not wish to link yourself to prior comments, you should register again with a different user name.Posted by 1125thmp (anonymous) on December 16, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nobody I believe really cares anymore. The singular consideration will be how much do we as a community get the shaft and for how much. The continued attitude of the developers has always been, tomorrow, we will say something tomorrow. Well not only is tomorrow here, but the decision has been made simply to give in and proscribe the antidote most appealing to the real estate developers.
Next thing it will be a Bulgarian language academy with a side add on for a School of the America's, Africa Branch.
Posted by killdeer (anonymous) on December 16, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Heck-I'll give the city 5 bucks for Parcel B!
Posted by ajohnsonx (anonymous) on December 16, 2008 at 2:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
1125thmp-
What do you propose should be done with it rather than have it be developed into something else?
Posted by drknow (anonymous) on December 16, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
1125thmp, I think the council did an awesome thing here and saved the city residents from getting the shaft as you so eloquently put it. We, as residents, will no longer own it, so we are not responsible for the demolision. Going into the city purchasing it, we all knew that it would sell for the same amount as the city paid for it. So I don't see how we are getting the shaft? The only people I can see that might get the shaft are the "Friends of the Kirkbride" people, as I have not seen anything that says the new owners won't demo it. And think about the issue of the movie, if the Chinese are concerned enough about a building that a movie was made in, how are they feeling about using an actual insane asylum?
I think the city deserves accolades for this one.
Posted by ckint1975 (anonymous) on December 17, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wish i could buy that land. I would give alot more than $1.00. I would really give $100.00 for that land. If it so cheap why don't they take bids for it. I'm sure they can get more than that $1.00
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