Ridgefield City Hall
The city of Ridgefield is set to have a new facility for its public works department, as the city council unanimously approved the purchase of a $3.8 million location near the Interstate 5 exit.
The council approved the purchase during its June 11 meeting, capping off months of work by city staff to see if the location was fitting for an operations center for public works.
Located at 487 S. 56th Place, the city became aware of the building being up for sale in December, Ridgefield Finance Director Kirk Johnson said at the meeting. In 2013, the council had approved a study looking at the long-term needs for the department, according to council documents.
The nearly 4.4-acre parcel features a 23,000-square-foot warehouse/shop building and a 5,000-square-foot, two-story office building, council documents stated, which was adequate for space requirements for the next 20 years, based on the 2013 study.
Alongside the purchase price, closing costs, due diligence and tenant improvements, the total cost is not to exceed $4.4 million, according to council documents, which will be paid out by the city taking out general obligation bonds with some bridge funding from the city’s water system development fund.
As part of the due diligence on the property, Johnson said the city conducted property inspection, environmental assessment and a property line survey. Ridgefield Public Works Director Bryan Kast said a prior environmental assessment of the property in 2008 showed potential soil contamination underneath the building which led to the city conducting additional review of the site.
The review showed trace amounts of benzene, though not past the allowable limit, Kast said, adding whatever was present was “capped and stabilized right now by the building itself.” No groundwater that was connected to an aquifer was identified in the additional study.
Kast said that the additional review was undertaken to ensure the city would not be required to undertake any cleanup efforts of the site. Currently cleanup was unnecessary given engineering barriers, but if the existing structure were to be demolished at a future date, may require some work.
During building inspection Kast said there were some minor issues identified, but “nothing that was out of the ordinary for the condition of the building.”
The sale is expected to close before July 20, according to council documents.
