St. Louis County puts jail into ReMax's hands |
| FOR SALE: Great opportunity to own a historic, five-story, 32,496-square-foot building on a half-acre of land, with solid construction and a majestic exterior in beautiful downtown Duluth; tons of closet and storage space for this handyman's dream. Priced to sell at only $60,000. By: Brandon Stahl, Duluth News Tribune FOR SALE: Great opportunity to own a historic, five-story, 32,496-square-foot building on a half-acre of land, with solid construction and a majestic exterior in beautiful downtown Duluth; tons of closet and storage space for this handyman's dream. Priced to sell at only $60,000. After failing to find a bidder for the historic downtown jail, St. Louis County turned the responsibility of selling the property over to a real estate agency last week. That agency, ReMax 1, officially put it up for sale on Thursday and began advertising it, which means you could soon find the building in a real estate listing. But though the price is a steal for a property of its size, Gary Kalligher of ReMax 1, who's selling it, says there are a few catches. The buyer has to submit a request for proposals that needs to be approved by the county. gIt's not like you can just buy it and take it,h Kalligher said. gIt's what your use will be and what are your financial capabilities.h The right buyer will need to demonstrate the ability to rehabilitate the building, which gwill be fairly expensive,h Kalligher said, given the extensive neglect and damage to its interior, its mold problems and the cost of removing the jail cells. The county announced Aug. 20 that it had rejected two bids to buy the jail because they didnft meet the requirements. About two dozen parties have requested information about the jail since June, county property manager Tony Mancuso said. But only one, a Twin Cities developer, spent $250 to take a tour of the building. That company, Ryan Co., told the county that the estimated $6.5 million cost to retrofit the property was too high. Kalligher said his agency will work to find other potential buyers by mounting an extensive marketing campaign, including taking to a helicopter Thursday to get aerial photos of the property. If ReMax 1 isn't successful in selling the jail, the county probably will return to the Duluth City Council on Nov. 15 to request approval to tear it down. The council blocked a county move to demolish the old jail earlier this year after local historic preservationists said the county hadn't made a good-faith effort to sell the building, an official historic place. The 1924 building at West Second Street and Mesaba Avenue was condemned for prisoner use in 1996. Since then, the county has seen interest from more than 60 parties, Mancuso has said, but has received no legitimate offers. |