City to buy Moose Lodge

Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 1, 2007

By Sarah Light, staff writer

Several months after the idea to sell their property to the city originally surfaced, leaders of the Albert Lea Moose Lodge indicated Tuesday they will go through with the purchase agreement of their building as part of the Main Street flood mitigation project.

Under the agreement, the city will purchase the property owned by the Moose Lodge 1703, 328 Main Court, for a price of $335,000. The purchase comes as a partnership between the city and the state Department of Natural Resources designed to help clean up the floodplain.

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In times of heavy precipitation, the area is routinely flooded, costing tax dollars in relief. Public infrastructure, including road systems, storm sewer systems and sanitary sewer systems are damaged, as is private property.

&8220;We&8217;re pleased that it&8217;s done and that we can get that area cleaned up and start moving forward,&8221; City Manager Victoria Simonsen said.

The city has until Dec. 31 to close on the property, and then the Moose Lodge will have until March 31, 2008, to be off the premises.

The building will soon become one of several to be demolished and turned into green space on the 50-year floodplain. Already purchased for demolition are buildings formerly owned by the Union Center, Albert Lea Car Wash, Minn-State Mortgage Co., Poole Electric and Butler Video.

In the time before the Moose Lodge moves out, Simonsen said, the city will continue to work closely with the organization to help it find options for a new location. Thus far, however, a new permanent location has not been found.

Rex Stotts, who is acting as a liaison between the Moose Lodge and the city for this project, said the lodge has a committee that&8217;s looking for a new location. If the committee cannot find a permanent location right away, it will move to a temporary one.

&8220;I&8217;m sure they&8217;d like to find something here in the city if they can,&8221; Stotts said.

In the end, because the building has been flooded several times and it is getting older, the group decided to move forward with the offer the city made for the property.

Moose Lodge administrator Don Horning said the committee still is deciding whether to purchase an existing building or to purchase land and build a new one. But it all depends on how much remodeling would cost, he said.

The purchase agreement was decided at the organization&8217;s last regular meeting Oct. 23 with the board of officers and general membership present.