02-25-1998 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. & Mrs. Erwin Winter February 20, 1998 Page 2 of 3 • If the revised site layout is possible, it is likely the theater development would still have an impact upon your's and Elaine's property in that the theater height is projected to be 48 feet above, grade. It is also likely that the property acquired from Mr. Rutzick to the east of your property would be used for parking to meet the needs of' the development. Your two properties combined make a good commercial site. However, they could be impacted due to their location at the rear of the theater building. • Still another issue to consider is how the two properties are to be sold. If combined at the time of sale, a commercial use is very likely. If sold independently, the "highest and best" use may be residential given the width of each parcel. As an appraiser told me, residential property on Rice Street is not the most desirable because of the high traffic volumes. • We discussed the possibility of doing an appraisal on the properties to determine their value at this time. This additional information may be helpful to decide what is in your best interests. • We also discussed the possibility of entering into an option to purchase whereby you would remain on the premises for as long as you desire. At the point you determined you wanted to sell the property, the City would then have the option to purchase at an agreed upon price thereby making it available for redevelopment purposes. This does not necessarily mean the City would purchase the properties. That could only be determined based on conditions in existence at that time. • There are no guarantees that the theater project will go forward. Discussions could break down and nothing may happen. • If the project moves forward, it is anticipated that the theater would be open for business by November of 1999 at the latest. Construction could commence in 1998. I do not want you to feel this letter is my attempt to continue to harass you regarding the possible sale of your property. Rather, I am only concerned that we provide you with as much information as possible to enable you to consider what is in your best interest in both the short and long -term, We are very concemed that should we change the layout of the redevelopment site, your property may be impacted in a manner which is not in your best interest. You stated Tuesday night that others have told you that you know when the time is right to sell your home and move to other surroundings. I totally agree with that statement in normal circumstances. However, most people do not have a major development being proposed in their neighborhood. That is why it may make sense to take another look at your options. While I am not asking you to change your mind, perhaps you do not want to totally close the door to a possible sale. If the two of you and Elaine are interested, I would recommend to the Council we order appraisals to get an estimate of the value of each of the properties to aid in your decision - making process. In addition to the appraised price, there may be some additional money due you which would make a sale at this time even more attractive. (This could include options that would not be available in the future.) These financial options would be consistent with how Page 4