Monday, December 5, 2011
Prospective buyer would turn building into art gallery, renting spaces to artists and hosting gallery nights.
A sale is pending for the historic fire engine house and is set to be approved by the Port Washington Common Council at its Tuesday meeting. Bette Langford plans to open an art gallery and studio in the building, which earned state and national recognition as a historic site in 2009. Langford has left fliers in local businesses seeking artists to fill the gallery spaces. "I am in the process of opening an art gallery with studios in Port Washington," the flier said. "The main floor will house the gallery in two rooms. There will be wall space for rent, a few floor spaces and glass cases for other art. ... My goal is to have a comfortable gallery that will appeal to the general public." Reached by e-mail on Monday, she confirmed the …
Thursday, September 22, 2011
RE/MAX United, a Port Washington realty company, will now pursue interested buyers in full force.
A two-week exemption period for the Port Washington Historical Society to purchase the historic fire engine house has ended, leaving Port Washington officials waiting to make a sale to any interested party through a broker. The building is listed for sale with RE/MAX United, and Port Washington City Administrator Mark Grams said the realtor has spoken with a number of interested buyers — though no one has given an official offer. "If we don’t sell (it) that means we've got about a $230,000 hole in the budget we’ve got to fix," Grams said. "That money is going to be used for the rent on the new senior center." RE/MAX will try to sell the building for $249,000 during the six-month sale contract. And as efforts for the sale continue, the Port…
43.38987
-87.870887
102 E Pier St, Port Washington, WI
/articles/deadline-passes-for-historical-society-to-buy-fire-engine-house
/locations/5424378
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Port Washington Common Council to decide between realty firms at Tuesday night's meeting.
No matter how controversial the sale of the historic fire engine house may be, it's seems the Port Washington Common Council is ready to get down to business Tuesday by hiring one of two realty firms to try to sell the building. Tom Didier Re/MAX United of Port Washington and Milwaukee-based Grubb & Ellis Apex Commercial are both in the running for the sale contract. Both have experience with commercial realty in Port Washington. Grubb & Ellis points to it's experience in the sale of the former Wind Rose Wine & Martini Bar building, and Re/MAX points to recent sales of commerical properties including buildings that now house Baltica Tea Room, Wardrobe Safari and Lake Shore Dance. The historic fire engine house, 102 E. Pier St., formerly …
43.38987
-87.870887
102 E Pier St, Port Washington, WI
/articles/two-realtors-make-bid-to-sell-historic-firehouse
/locations/5282076
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Port Washington Common Council approves moving forward with the attempted sale of historic fire engine building, while leaving room for negotiations with interested buyers and the historical society.
When it comes down to it, nobody has enough money. The Port Washington Historical Society has long hoped to maintain city ownership of the historic fire engine house building, but it does not have the $250,000 the city says it needs from the sale to fill a hole in the budget — a hole generated by the the senior center's move from the fire house. Interested buyers of the building are also coming up short, scared off by costly repairs needed to sustain the fire house's historical value and other general maintenance costs — generating zero bids by the city's July 27 deadline. Though the historical society presented a plan to fund the needed repairs and maintenance of the building — along with a petition against the sale with about 700 …
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Historical society still will fight to save the old engine house, while the city likely still will seek a sale.
The controversial sale of a city-owned historic fire engine house is at a stalemate, as zero bids came in by Wednesday's deadline. That unexpected development left Port Washington Historical Society members agape with disbelief. City officials gave every impression that "there were people very interested" in buying the historic fire station, said Nancy Haacke, a Port resident and historical society member. Haacke and several others waited at Port Washington City Hall on Wednesday for the opening of the bids, only to be "shocked" that there was nothing to open. "Can you imagine … we were sitting there, there were like six of us and (City Administrator Mark Grams) came in and we were waiting for the opening and ... he said, 'There are no …
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Former home of the Port Washington Senior Center is up for sale, and the historical society is making a last-chance grab at maintaining city ownership of the building.
Time is running out, but they aren't giving up. Members and supporters of the Port Washington Historical Society attended the Port Common Council meeting on Tuesday night to again ask city officials to reconsider the sale of the historic fire engine house building, formerly the home of the Port Washington Adult Community Senior Center. A petition is also circulating to stop the sale. Despite all this, the building remains on the market and has already been seen by interested parties, City Administrator Mark Grams said. Potential buyers have until July 27 to submit a bid. The historical society first began talking with Port officials about the issue on June 1, 2010, when discussion arose about possibly leasing the building from the city, …
43.38482
-87.87585
Port Washington Adult Community Senior Center
403 W Foster St, Port Washington, WI
/articles/port-historical-society-again-fights-for-fire-engine-house
1066683
/locations/4886031
Greg
11:09 am on Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Glad it's back on the tax roll. If the 1000 signers had chipped in $176 each, they could have done with it as they pleased. more ›