Evan Smith: What happened to the parcel the museum was supposed to buy?
Friday, July 16, 2010
By Evan Smith
ShorelineAreaNews Politics Writer
After I wrote last week that the plan to move the old Ronald School building had fallen through, a reader asked what had happened to the parcel the Shoreline Historical Museum was supposed to buy.
What had happened to end the agreement to move the building that would allow the Museum to stay in the building with the Shoreline School District’s taking over the land that the building sits on for a rebuilt Shorewood High School?
Museum Board member Bob Phelps offers this answer:
“The owner got a better offer from Carter Subaru. The Museum's offer was higher than the appraised value (that an experienced commercial real estate agent thought was very high in today's economic environment).”
The Museum had hoped to buy land between its current parking lot and the Shell service station at the corner of Aurora Avenue North and North 175th Avenue.
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5 comments:
Thank you for following up on that question.
It seems like if activists really want to keep the museum, they should put pressure on Carter Subaru to sell them the museum the land and raise money to come up with the difference in the purchase price.
Has the museum considered this option?
I'd put an offer on the old Sugar's lot. What a great place to put the museum. It wouldn't be a far move.
The City of Shoreline & the Shoreline School District were aware of the interest Carter Subaru had in the property dating from September 2009 (at least). The owners of the property of the property held out selling under the eminent domain proceedings for the Aurora Corridor Phase II the piece the City identified as necessary for the project until very recently. As a point of comparison, Carter Subaru was one of the first to sell under eminent domain proceedings for the Aurora Project.
The public needs to be aware of the fact that large public projects like the Aurora Project and the high school replacement projects have an impact on local businesses and non-profits like the museum. The supporters of the Aurora Project & the school district have selectively supported certain individuals while ignoring others who have been affected.
The estimate the school district obtained for moving the museum building to the parcel next door was $1.6 million dollars, and that did not include any land acquisition costs, foundation work, or plumbing/electrical connection & reconnection costs. The move to Sugars is much further away and the streets are currently torn apart.
Who owns Sugars right now? The building and the land was forfeited to the federal government under the plea deal, but processing these deals takes time and the school district is taking a fast track and doesn't seem to play well with others. The purchase of Sugars would involve at least one, if not more, federal agencies to complete.
"The public needs to be aware of the fact that large public projects like the Aurora Project and the high school replacement projects have an impact on local businesses and non-profits like the museum..."
I'm confused. Are you actually saying that we shouldn't improve our schools and roads because that will raise property values? Because, as a local tax payer, I'm really happy that Aurora Ave will be improved and that our kids will have a new high school.
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