Beaver Dam May Acquire Apartment Property For One Dollar, And Sell For One Dollar

(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Plan Commission on Wednesday approved a proposal to purchase the Executive Apartment property for one dollar. The parcel at 600 West Third Street was the site of a fatal fire in April and the shell of the structure has since been demolished. City officials indicated that the current owner of the property has no plans to rebuild and is considering the transaction a donation. Part of the agreement is that future property owners would need to maintain a memorial marker to the two people who lost their lives in the fire.

Former alderman Glen Link, who lives in the same ward as the property, asked the commission if the parcel would be going on the open market. Mayor Becky Glewen indicated that it has apparently already been determined who would be purchasing the property from the city. Glewen says the property would not be going on the open market because it is “part of a bigger development discussion.” When asked by Link if there would be a “mark-up” on the property, she said the purchaser of the apartment property at 600 West Maple would be responsible for paying the outstanding property taxes unpaid by the current owner, estimated at $20-thousand dollars.

While city officials have not identified any developers in open session meetings, we reported last week that a lakefront property that connects both the apartment site and the former Lakeview Hospital was recently sold to a firm associated with WDS Construction of Beaver Dam. Owner Ben Westra did not comment on any possible connection following his September 5th purchase of the Powell property at 604 West Maple Street. The Beaver Dam Common Council is expected to vote on the property acquisition at their October 1st meeting.