State property up for grabs

408 acres at prison farm among sites for sale

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 30, 2006

Madison - In the biggest shedding of excess land and buildings in decades, state officials are hanging "for sale" signs on properties that range from
408 acres at the Waupun prison farm to a half-acre parking lot in downtown Madison.

Under a deal made between Gov. Jim Doyle and the Legislature, state government must generate $36 million in property sales by mid-2007. The current two-year state budget was balanced on the assumption that money would be raised.

Some of the properties might be a developer's dream. Others may not be as desirable - for example, 8 acres on the grounds of Mauston's Sand Ridge treatment center for sex predators so dangerous that judges have ruled that they cannot be released.

In the future, even the 10-story state Department of Administration headquarters three blocks from the Capitol could be sold, because it would command top dollar in condo-crazy downtown Madison and overlooks Lake Monona, officials said. But the idea of selling that office building is preliminary.

Department of Administration officials released a list of excess properties, compiled by state officials and consultants, in response to a request from the Journal Sentinel under the state's open records law.

Some sales have been completed; others are being negotiated. Still other sites are awaiting interested buyers. The state Building Commission must approve individual sales.

The first sale was completed in December, when the Oneida tribe paid $9.2 million for surplus land owned by the Department of Corrections in Outagamie County, records show.

Negotiations to sell other pieces of property - such as the 21-acre parking lot in the Hill Farms State Office Building in Madison - are progressing, said Sean Dilweg, executive assistant in the state Department of Administration.

Within weeks, a state building at 202 S. Thornton Ave. in Madison is expected to be sold, said Department of Administration spokesman Scott Larrivee. Vehicles and documents, including the Blue Book guide to state government, are stored in the Thornton Ave. building, with a value estimated at $3 million to $6 million, Dilweg said.

Dilweg said the governor and legislators targeted property they thought could generate at least $36 million to help subsidize state spending. If the sales do not raise $36 million, spending will have to be cut by the shortfall, Dilweg said.

Department of Administration officials declined to estimate what specific properties might be worth, saying doing so could jeopardize their ability to get the highest possible price.

Before property can be sold to a private buyer, it must first be offered to other state agencies, then to other governments, including Indian tribes.

The state paid Chicago-based Equis Corp. $572,000 to identify properties that could be sold. The state's contract with the firm came under scrutiny in March because of a provision that would allow Equis to collect up to 25% of the sale of some properties - far above the industry standard of 6% to 10%, real estate expert say.

But that provision has never been invoked, and Doyle promised that the state will never pay a commission of 25%. Equis has not been paid for any property sales, and the company has never received more than 4.2% from the state for renegotiating leases, records show.

Also on the excess property list are:

. Two parcels of Waupun prison farmland totaling 408 acres. One 264-acre property north of state Highway 49 has a gun range; the second 144-acre parcel is south of the highway and has several farm buildings.

. Four Department of Natural Resources properties: the 3.5-acre office at
2312 N. King Drive in Milwaukee; the 3.3-acre former regional office in Howard; and land on Fish Hatchery Road in Madison and in Plymouth.

. Up to 40 acres, including some lakefront land, on the grounds of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute.

. 3. 6 acres of parcels of residential property in Sturtevant.

. The 4.1-acre Onalaska driver's license center, on the list as Transportation Department officials debate whether to keep owning those centers or lease them in the future.

. 93 acres in the Town of Dover on the grounds of the Southern Wisconsin Center for people with developmental disabilities. A 33-acre parcel is landlocked, which could hurt its development potential.

| 22.7 acres of open land owned by the Transportation Department in
| Green
Bay at 944 Vanderperren Way.

. A half-acre parking lot at 21 S. Butler St. in downtown Madison.

. The 3.3-acre Educational Communications Building at 3319 W. Beltline Highway in Madison, one of the city's busiest commercial roadways.

Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

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