City Center Housing Corp. has sought and been granted an extension of its closing date to purchase Gage East Elementary School property.
The Duluth-based nonprofit organization had originally agreed to a closing date of March 1 to finalize the purchase of the property, for which CCHC has agreed to pay $1.3 million. On Tuesday, the Rochester School Board agreed to a two-month extension to June 1 that had been sought by CCHC.
CCHC eventually plans to build what would be the city's first apartment complex for homeless families and youth next to the Gage East school. Last October, the agency was informed that it had been awarded $11 million in funding by the Minnesota Housing Finance agency for the project.
It's not clear why City Center sought the extension. A call left on a CCHC official's cell phone was not answered. And at Tuesday's school board meeting, neither board members nor administrative officials discussed the need for the extension.
Earlier in the month, however, the board did go into closed session to discuss various district properties on the market, including Gage East.
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Larry Smith, the district's executive director of business operations, told the board that in exchange for the district agreeing to an extension, City Center was willing to offer several things in return. They included $15,000 to be paid to the district to pay the costs of a roof repair and three month's rent "to be payable under the gymnasium lease." City Center also agreed to take responsibility for the cost of repairs that occur after the original closing date of March 1.
