Politics & Government

Board Agrees to Sell Eliot Building for $2 Million

If the site checks out, construction of a new apartment complex could begin next spring.

The St. Louis Park School Board on Tuesday agreed to sell the vacant Eliot School building to a Minneapolis condo developer for just more than $2 million.

The developer, Dan Hunt, plans to level the building and use the site to construct a 144-unit apartment complex.

The building, which has been vacant since February 2010, is roughly 100 years old and does not meet current safety and accessibility standards for a school.

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“It has outlived its usefulness for the district,” said Garfield Clark, a real estate agent who worked with the district on the sale.

For the district, it is the second purchase agreement reached on the property, as a previous deal fell through.

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Hunt will be given two months to inspect the site for environmental problems, and he can void the deal during that time. Various city approvals and permits are also needed before the sale can close and demolition can begin.

If everything goes smoothly, demolition could begin next spring, with construction to follow soon after. Demolition is estimated to cost around $500,000 for Hunt, with asbestos removal at the old building part of the process.

The apartment plan meets guidelines for the site that were  by the City Council. Those guidelines called for a residential development with six to 30 units per acre, with a mix of condominiums, town homes and single-family housing.

Specific plans from the developer have not been presented yet.


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