MONROE - A private buyer for a downtown lot has been "bumped," to the benefit of Monroe Main Street (MMS).
The MMS Board of Directors voted Monday night to take advantage of a "bump" clause in a contract to purchase the vacant lot at 1028 17th Ave. in downtown Monroe using funds from Tax Increment District #7.
The issue will go before the Public Property Committee at 6:25 p.m. and the Finance & Taxation Committee at 6:45 p.m., before arriving at the City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
City Attorney Rex Ewald owns the lot. An offer was made by an unknown person, and accepted, but Ewald used the bump clause in the contract.
Ewald told the MMS board the bump is to give the city "first shot at the price" offered, $55,000.
Terry Martin, a partner in Artisan>Design:Build of Monroe, asked the board to give "serious thought" to purchasing the property. He called the corner site a "Genesis piece" in a much larger vision for the "11th Street Corridor" between 17th to 18th avenues.
The corner "connects the historic square with city hall and includes two important period pieces of architecture in the Goetz Theater and the U.S. Post Office," Martin said.
The north side of the 1700 block of 11th Street was identified last year in the MMS "Downtown and Beyond ..." project as a possible location for a Culinary Arts Center.
Martin said any building on the lot should not only face the Square, but also extend a facade around the corner to the south. The MMS vision "can include and incorporate any singular concept for the corner site," he said.
The potential buyer, unidentified and not at the meeting, sent a letter addressed "To whom it may concern" explaining that the intentions for the site were "to develop it." Included in the proposed plans were a three-story recessed building with outdoor seating and a restaurant with possible hotel rooms above.
The city could use the site for either a public facility or for a public/private partnership venture. Ewald said there has been public demand for the space over the years.
The city has until Aug. 1 to exercise the option.
MMS board chairman Dr. David Riese called Ewald's "bump clause" a civic gesture.
The MMS Board of Directors voted Monday night to take advantage of a "bump" clause in a contract to purchase the vacant lot at 1028 17th Ave. in downtown Monroe using funds from Tax Increment District #7.
The issue will go before the Public Property Committee at 6:25 p.m. and the Finance & Taxation Committee at 6:45 p.m., before arriving at the City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
City Attorney Rex Ewald owns the lot. An offer was made by an unknown person, and accepted, but Ewald used the bump clause in the contract.
Ewald told the MMS board the bump is to give the city "first shot at the price" offered, $55,000.
Terry Martin, a partner in Artisan>Design:Build of Monroe, asked the board to give "serious thought" to purchasing the property. He called the corner site a "Genesis piece" in a much larger vision for the "11th Street Corridor" between 17th to 18th avenues.
The corner "connects the historic square with city hall and includes two important period pieces of architecture in the Goetz Theater and the U.S. Post Office," Martin said.
The north side of the 1700 block of 11th Street was identified last year in the MMS "Downtown and Beyond ..." project as a possible location for a Culinary Arts Center.
Martin said any building on the lot should not only face the Square, but also extend a facade around the corner to the south. The MMS vision "can include and incorporate any singular concept for the corner site," he said.
The potential buyer, unidentified and not at the meeting, sent a letter addressed "To whom it may concern" explaining that the intentions for the site were "to develop it." Included in the proposed plans were a three-story recessed building with outdoor seating and a restaurant with possible hotel rooms above.
The city could use the site for either a public facility or for a public/private partnership venture. Ewald said there has been public demand for the space over the years.
The city has until Aug. 1 to exercise the option.
MMS board chairman Dr. David Riese called Ewald's "bump clause" a civic gesture.