Port Authority buys land for development; Former Hy-Vee building remains on the market

Published 8:42 am Wednesday, December 6, 2017

The Austin Port Authority is expected on Wednesday to approve the sale of 10.45 acres of city-owned property along 14th Street Northeast, a condition that was part of a larger 27-acre purchase agreement between the Port Authority and Diane and Steve Persinger last month.

The Port Authority meets for its regular meeting at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in City Council chambers.

As a condition of the larger purchase, the Persingers wanted to purchase the 10.45 acres, contiguous to the larger tract, which is owned by the city, said Port Authority Executive Director Craig Clark.

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The Port Authority approved the larger purchase for $300,000 at its Oct. 25 meeting, and now will sell the smaller acreage to the Persingers for $60,000. The larger parcel is located south of the Austin Utilities on the east; Persinger’s parcel is located on the north end of the property.

Clark said the city wanted to purchase the property for commercial development, although there is not a project pending for that area. There is existing industrial business already on the west end of the property.

Also on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting is to consider the extension of its purchase agreement with Slaby and Associates to market the Hy-Vee building until Aug. 1, 2018.

Slaby reported it has found interest from smaller tenants for both the reuse of the store as well as outlet construction on the property, also included in the agreement, that is known as the Farmer’s Market lot. That lot is located between the Hy-Vee gas station and O’Reilly Auto Parts.

Still, Clark reported in a memo to the Port Authority board, Slaby “has worked hard to identify the large user and still has reason to believe that a mid-box retailer is a possibility.”

An accompanying action will be the extension of the Port Authority’s agreement with Hy-Vee that includes the demolition of the old store by February 2018. As a result of the extension with Slaby, Hy-Vee has agreed to an extension of its obligation, also until August 2018.

“Without the reuse of this building, they (Slaby) made clear a ground-up construction would not present attractive enough lease rates to win approval of a new site location in Austin,” Clark said in the memo.

The Port Authority is an arm of the city that studies and carries out economic and industrial development and redevelopment within the city.