Depot Park building could go to highest bidder

The city of Whitefish is looking for anyone who might be interested in purchasing its building in Depot Park.

The city is advertising for possible sale and moving of the building.

City Manager Chuck Stearns said the city is looking for a possible way for an interested party to reuse the building and thereby avoid filling the landfill if the building were demolished. If someone purchases the building it would also save the city from paying the cost of demolishing the building.

Stearns said he is unsure how much the building might sell for, but the city has estimated the cost to demolish the building at between $20,000 to $30,000.

“That’s why we do bids,” he said. “I will be pleasantly surprised if we do get any bids.”

Stearns noted that when the city tried to sell a number of buildings earlier this year from the donated property that became the James Bakke Nature Reserve, the city didn’t receive any bids.

The city acquired the Depot Park office building in 2009 from the Park Side Credit Union. The building appears to have been constructed in 1976 and remodeled in 2002.

The building is actually in two sections and only the eastern portion of the building has a crawl space to allow for moving it intact. Bidders can bid to buy either or both sections of the building.

The western most section, which includes the front foyer and office building, is 1,680 square feet in size. This section is on a slab foundation with no crawl space.

This section includes a LeFebure bank vault door and steel frame, which can be bid on separately.

Prior to demolishing the old City Hall building, the city held an auction of items in the building. One vault and frame sold for $900, while another fetched $1,900.

Stearns noted that the vaults in City Hall were antiques, but any vault door has some value.

The eastern most section is the back office area and kitchen. This section contains a crawl space so it can be moved off the site intact. The area is 2,368 square feet and has a full kitchen and two half bathrooms.

City Council earlier this month voted to continue with long-held plans to remove the building that houses the city parks and planning departments. The city departments will move into the new City Hall building when construction is complete in spring 2017.

City Council this spring decided to re-examine an option to remove the building as set out in the city’s Depot Park master plan as a possible way to generate funds through leasing the building. Approved in 2012, the plan calls for removal of the building as part of a goal to create more green space. The planning and parks departments are set to move into the new City Hall once it’s constructed in 2017.

Successful bidders must remove the building and contents of the property by May 31, 2017.

City staff will hold a tour of the building on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. The city is accepting bids until 3 p.m. on Dec. 8.

For more information, contact Stearns at 863-2406.