Another Founders Landing deal scrapped

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MARQUETTE - About two months after the Marquette City Commission rejected a purchase agreement for Founders Landing with The Urban Project, it did the same with The Landing Development Group on Monday - and it only took one vote.

Commissioner Joe Lavey was the lone dissenting vote on the purchase agreement but his vote was enough to reject the proposed $875,000 offer for the middle parcel of Founders Landing.

The unanimous vote was required because the Landing Development Group did not put in a bid for the middle parcel, instead requesting to purchase it from the city. If a person or developer asks the city to buy a property that has not gone out for bids, the city charter stipulates that the final decision to sell the property must be unanimous. It wasn't, so the deal fell through.

City Manager Judy Akkala said the property will now go back to the Marquette City Planning Commission. If the planning commission decides to sell the property, it will put together a request for proposals, seek bids and make a recommendation to the city commission, which will make the final decision.

"I don't think we have done our due diligence in continuing good faith negotiations with The Urban Project and I just cannot vote in favor of selling to the new developer, despite the quality of their plans,"Lavey said in explaining his vote.

He said the commission did not show "just cause" when it voted to reject The Urban Project's purchase agreement on May 27, only a month after the commission instructed Akkala to prepare a new purchase agreement with the developer at its April 28 meeting.

"How we came to that conclusions and then flipped so quickly is beyond me," Lavey said.

Lavey said some commissioners were unhappy with several conditions in the purchase agreement with The Urban Project. That could have been avoided, he said, had the commission given Akkala and City Attorney Ron Keefe - the city's negotiators - clear and precise conditions to include in the purchase agreement.

Commissioner Mike Coyne said the commission negotiated fairly, morally and ethically, but after 15 months of negotiations with The Urban Project with no results it was time to move on.

"Since we started negotiating with The Urban Project the city has paid $352,000 in payments - $22,000 a month (to repay the $4 million bond used to purchase the property)," he said. "To vote no ... we're going to spend at least $350,000 again because this process isn't going to happen just like that."

Mayor Tom Tourville said he was frustrated with the process but he felt the commission did give clear directions to the city manager and city attorney. He said it was more a matter of the commission and The Urban Project not being "on the same wavelength."

"Time in and time out it seemed like most every juncture there was some disconnect that we had with the Urban Project," Tourville said. "After 15 months my frustration is that no matter where we were at, what stage of negotiation or process there was still that disconnect."

He said the commission asked for a financial statement from the developer throughout the negotiating process but never received anything satisfactory, thus commissioners were not convinced the developer had the financial capability to do the project.

Commissioner John Kivela said the project has changed significantly from when it was first offered to The Urban Project. He said the extent of the project is now just townhomes on the middle parcel and The Landing Development Group's plans are not dissimilar to The Urban Project's.

Members of The Landing Development Group were visibly disappointed and surprised. They had even printed a large novelty check for $875,000 to present to the commission.

"We're disappointed," Barry Polzin said, "It seemed like the city had an opportunity to move forward but they didn't take it."

Polzin said The Landing Development Group would put in a bid if the property goes out to RFPs.