There’s something about the Williams Bakery site that makes it worth almost $25 million to the University, and it isn’t the lingering aroma of fresh-baked bread.
Located on the corner of 13th
Avenue and Moss Street, the bakery’s proximity to the University and the soon-to-be constructed Bus Rapid Transit system are valuable qualities, qualities that University officials say make the location pertinent to the long-term development of the University.
During a Dec. 10 telephone conference, the State Board of Higher Education allowed the University to seek approval from the Legislative Emergency Board to release $24.7 million in state-backed bonds for the University to use in acquiring the site.
United States Bakery, the company that owns the bakery site, gave the University until Jan. 15 to purchase the property.
University Vice President for Administration Dan Williams said the date is not so much a deadline as it is a check-in date and reflection of the bakery’s needs.
“They know what our schedule is for receiving authorization,” Williams said. “Our part of it is complicated and their part of it is complicated.”
University President Dave Frohnmayer told the board during the Dec. 10 meeting that obtaining approval from the emergency board to release the bonds is “just the next step in the land acquisition process.”
Frohnmayer said the situation qualifies as an emergency “because of the seller’s timeline,” and the magnitude of the land acquisition makes it crucial that all necessary steps be taken as soon as possible.
“We have a major project but a very small time frame in which to constitute it,” Frohnmayer said.
Jerry Boness, chief financial officer for United States Bakery, said the company “absolutely understands” the complicated process the University must go through to acquire the land.
“We’ve always had a good relationship with our neighbors,” Boness said. “There’s just a lot going on, and we have to make a decision.”
The University’s goal is to build a new basketball arena on the site, Williams said, but University officials say the land can be used for just about anything. Frohnmayer told the board that the bakery building itself could host at least 20 offices that are currently located in rented buildings.
“We are, as the board knows,
a landlocked University,” Frohnmayer said.
The bakery itself faces a long and complicated relocation process, assuming the sale does happen, and needs to start making plans as soon as possible, Boness said.
Frohnmayer told the board that because of this, the University is not expected to occupy the land until spring 2006.
Boness said the company is selling the land mostly because the University wants it so badly and because what could be built there would benefit the community in many ways.
“We’d be very happy to stay at that site, but we’re trying to balance what would be good for the city, the University, the community and ourselves,” Boness said.
The $24.7 million price tag on
the bakery site covers the cost of purchasing a new site and relocating
the bakery.
Frohnmayer told the board the site “constitutes a desirable buffer zone” between the University and the neighborhood and that all aspects of the purchase have been examined and deemed “ultimately fair to the parties.”
Fairmount Neighbors Association Co-Chairman Jeff Nelson wrote an e-mail to the board prior to the Dec. 10 meeting to express the association’s concern with the use of public bonds to pay for what it sees as an overpriced piece of property.
Nelson wrote that “the use of public funds in this case does not adequately strike the balance between public and private good,”
citing the more than $17 million that will be used to cover the company’s relocation costs rather than the value of the site itself, which totals $7 million.
Nelson asked on behalf of the association that “a minimum of 10 percent of the portion of the purchase, which is in excess value of the land itself,” be used to help mitigate development impacts that may arise should anything be constructed on the site. Meaning, an additional $1.77 million would go toward mitigating development impacts because $17.7 million goes toward additional costs.
Though no mention was made of the association’s request during the meeting, board members credited the $24.7 million price tag as a result of the immeasurable value the coveted property has as a long-term investment to the University.
Williams said there is no reason to discuss the possible development impacts of a basketball arena or any other projects because a decision has not been made as to what the site will be used for.
“Until there’s more certainty, there’s no point in creating anxiety,” Williams said.
University to seek approval for funds for bakery locale
Daily Emerald
January 2, 2005
0
More to Discover