A Bad Deal is a Bad Deal

The sale of land at the Brookings Marketplace is a complex subject with various thoughts and opinions circling around. First, we as citizens can all be thankful that the council and city leadership has taken time to try and add transparency to this process, which has historically been lacking. The problem is that a bad deal is a bad deal. And we as citizens should demand better.

 

Apprised value

In 2022, the city has the 26.25 acre parcel appraised at a price of $1.20/sq ft for the entire parcel. The appraiser citied several factors for the low price (less than the city purchased it for a decade ago) including:

• A)      The difficulty of developing a large tract of land
• B)    The cost of installing utilities
• C)    The ongoing costs involved with holding the land over time.

Since that initial appraisal, several factors have changed:

• A)      The city has moved from selling all 26.25 acres to only selling the prime 10 acres.
• B)      The city has indicated plans to create a TIF District to reimburse part or all of the developer’s infrastructure costs.
• C)     The city has contractually obligated themselves to hold  a portion of the land for 3 years  exclusively for Ryan Co at no cost, until Ryan Co decides if they want to move forward or not.

The major components of the low value appraisal do not apply to the land being sold.

 

Smaller parcel, same price

Basic real estate principles indicate that even if you agree with the premise that the whole parcel is worth only $1.20/sq ft, the prime 10 acres is far more valuable than the back acres.

The Marketplace parcel being sold to Ryan Co shrunk from 26.25 to 18 acres. Then again from 18 to only the prime 10 acres. And in all of that, the price did not increase. 

Hope, not contractual

While the city has hopes that Ryan will develop beyond the initial 10 acres, there is no contractual obligation to that end – only hope.

That is the same hope they had with Bender Co in 2016 and Woodsonia in 2013.

If nothing else, a decade of disappointment resulting from trusting hope should have taught this community that hope does not make a good deal.

This is a Bad deal for Brookings. Vote NO and demand a better deal.