South DaCola

Why wasn’t the 300 building considered an option? Because existing buildings don’t make contractors money

l3wis

Lets’s face it, this isn’t about space needs, this is about rewarding contractors, architects and consultants with new jobs to do. Buying existing property that just needs some new carpet doesn’t require the millions in consulting fees;

While it wouldn’t be move-in ready for the city, Merrow’s Realtor Dennis Breske said a full restoration “down to the bones” could be completed for an estimated $4 to $5 million.

“Even if it’s $70 per square foot for all 76,000 square feet, that’s $5.3 million,” said Breske, who used to be part owner of the 300 Building. “That’s $11,320,000 (for purchase and remodel), which is still a savings … of almost $14 million.”

Of course the city has all kinds of excuses;

Officials at City Hall, though, say the 300 Building was considered before deciding to build new. Sue Quanbeck Etten, Central Services Director for the city who’s led the administrative office building project for Mayor Huether, said the floor plan, a limited amount of parking and the sheer number of tenants leasing space in the building kept the 300 Building from being seriously considered when other space solutions were being vetted in 2013 and 2014.

“It wasn’t even something we considered because that building didn’t meet any of the criteria that we needed,” she said, although admitting the idea of purchasing the building out right wasn’t entertained – only leasing space.

So which is it? You considered it or not?

In all the discussions concerning the proposed office building we hear and read, there is a concern for parking. As of right now there is a lightly used parking ramp and Romantix ground parking lots on the west side of North Dakota. The parking lots to the north and south of Romantix are currently used by workers in the 300 Building. When city staff moves into the 300 Building, these employees will be putting their cars into the same parking spots being vacated by the leaving office workers. The lot south of Romantix would finally be used consistently by city staff.
The KSFY space has possibilities for the engineers and their sensitive equipment requirements. Most of the 300 Building tower could be used in it’s current configuration. Little remodeling would be required to make the building very useable. The south wing could be remodeled, removed or expanded easily for future growth into the current city parking lot.
So there should be no further discussion of parking needs in this building purchase a possibility.
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