(The Center Square) – Wisconsin is selling the Department of Natural Resources and former Department of Public Instruction buildings in downtown Madison for $12.6 million, below the more than $45 million assessed value of the buildings at 101 and 125 S. Webster St.
That sale was approved by the State Building Commission after objection from some lawmakers who believe the sale was below what the state should receive for the buildings, which need an estimated $213 million in repairs to meet modern safety and operational standards.
“Selling these state buildings and land that is on prime real estate in downtown Madison for pennies on the dollar is a bad deal for Wisconsin taxpayers and needs a lot more scrutiny before being transferred to a developer in a sweetheart deal while nobody is watching,” Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, said in a statement. “We’ll have a new Governor in a few months and the new administration should get a chance to see if this fits their new goals and policies.
“Even if it is decided to sell these properties in the future, we should negotiate a much better deal for taxpayers – we’ll always be able to sell it at fire sale price, but if approved, it’s gone forever and taxpayers foot the bill and lose the value.”
Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, spoke with the developer purchasing the property and said that he believes the gap in appraisal and reality is that the buildings were appraised as office space but ultimately will be redeveloped into residential space.
“If it was such a sweetheart deal, why don’t we have 15 offers on the table for it?” Wittke said during Building Commission discussion.
Sen. Andre Jacque, R-New Franken, said that “if the appraisal is the problem, then we need to fix the appraisal before we move forward with a sale of this magnitude.”
The sale was approved 7-1 with Jacque as the only objection.
“I don’t believe that this is a good deal for taxpayers at this time,” Jacque added.
Kaufert, a former member of the commission, added that he was concerned the sale will make it more difficult to have state employees return to more in person work in the future, stating that some state agencies have employees working just one day per month in an office.
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