City may own Lea Center for a while

Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 8, 2002

The company that will redevelop Lea Center has met its Aug. 1 deadline for crucial grant applications, and the city is moving ahead with other facets of its downtown plan.

Metro Plains is the St. Paul-based company that will take over the building, also known as the Hyde building, from the city, which agreed to purchase it last month. For most of its redevelopment projects, the company applies for housing tax credits and state grants.

The city and company have signed a purchase, but Metro Plains won’t take over the building until the grants are determined, said City Manager Paul Sparks.

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&uot;We may end up owning the building for a while, because this process is not the fastest process in the world,&uot; he said.

The city won’t need to do much hands-on work with the building, which is mostly vacant, he said.

&uot;It’s cash-flowing pretty well as it is,&uot; he said. &uot;We’ll look at what we have to do.&uot;

The One-Hour Martinizing dry cleaning business south of Lea Center is now in city hands as well, and the plan includes demolishing that building to make way for more parking. That won’t likely happen until next year because it’s already late in the season and the Lea Center project won’t get underway before then, Sparks said. The city must pay to relocate the business.

The final contract with Metro Plains for the Lea Center transaction was also adjusted, with the purchase price changing from $1 to $1,000. The company’s standard contract includes the slightly higher price, Sparks said.

The city council agreed July 22 to purchase Lea Center for $350,000 and turn it over to Metro Plains, which plans to transform it into a housing complex with some commercial space. The city decided to act quickly because of the looming Aug. 1 deadline and the possibility the building’s owner would lose the property to creditors.

Another aspect of the downtown effort is a grant application to the Department of Trade and Economic Development to be used for public improvements in the two-square-block area that includes Lea Center and Freeborn Bank such as sidewalk and parking improvements, landscaping, buried utility lines and more.

The application is not due until October, and the city is now conducting a community-needs survey required for the grant. The three-page survey, which asks about residents’ current housing and what needs they perceive in the community, is available at the city offices as well as many other public places, but won’t be sent to homes, Sparks said.