Twin City Foods purchase still on the table

Even though several of them still have plenty of questions about the potential purchase of the vacant Twin City Foods property in downtown Lewiston, five city councilors voted Monday night to enter into negotiations with the company with a starting bid of $800,000.

The last group of councilors, most of whom left office Jan. 10, voted to accept a $2 million purchase agreement that had been locked in by Vancouver, Wash., developer Ginn Group. Ginn had been looking at a multiyear, mixed-use development on the property that could have been worth as much as $200 million, but it decided the project was simply too large when considering the potential return on that investment. It has been the only serious attempt to redevelop the vacant property since a vegetable processing facility was razed more than a decade ago.

But Twin City Foods declined a city offer to extend the closing date and earnest money deadlines to allow the new council to consider the purchase, and that purchase agreement expired. Now the new council is starting from scratch by directing Mayor Dan Johnson and city staff to begin purchase negotiations anew. If an agreement can be reached, it must still come back to the full council for final approval.

Community Development Department officials like Director Laura Von Tersch have recommended the purchase so the city can make infrastructure improvements, clean up soil contamination and divide the property into manageable pieces that will be more attractive to developers.

Von Tersch told the council at Monday night’s meeting that if the divided and resold properties can gain private investment worth $135 million, they would generate approximately $500,000 in property taxes each year at current tax rates. She also said that as the property owner, the city could shape the developments toward the mix of commercial and residential space that is scarce downtown.

“When you compare that to the investment, the potential and the risk, the risk is well worth taking for that potential to complete our downtown,” she said. “And I would suggest that residential would be an amazing use, an amazing offering, that has no competition in our market in terms of river views.”

Councilor Luke Blount questioned the price of potential condos in future developments, and whether they would only be in reach of the “elite.” Von Tersch said those types of properties would be expensive at more than $500,000, but as owner the city could dictate that developers include affordable housing in their projects.

Several councilors, including Council President Hannah Liedkie and Councilor Kassee Forsmann, expressed support for what the city could do to spur development at the site. But they said they still wanted more information, including details about how much money the city would have to invest to truly make the land marketable.

And Councilor Jim Kleeburg said he thought the $2 million price negotiated by Ginn was too high, suggesting it could be had for between $800,000 and $1 million. He made the amendment to Councilor Kathy Schroeder’s successful motion to enter into negotiations with Twin City Foods with a starting bid of $800,000.

Blount was the only councilor to not support the motion. As the mayor, Johnson only votes to break ties.

In other business:

The city didn’t receive any quotes from four local contractors to remove the remains of the burned-out Emperor of India King Thai restaurant on Main Street, which has been condemned since a December 2019 fire. Assistant City Attorney Kayla Hermann said it was previously believed that the work would cost less than $50,000, the threshold that requires the city to formally put out a project for bids. But with no takers, Hermann said the next step will be to institute that formal bidding process.

Johnson and the council made several appointments of councilors to city boards and commissions, and several outside groups. Blount will go to the Urban Forestry and Cemetery Commission; Schroeder will go to the Code Board of Appeals and the Historic Preservation Commission; Liedkie will go to the Disability Advisory Commission; Forsmann will go to the Emergency Services Advisory Board and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission; and Rick Tousley will go to the Library Board of Trustees.

Blount and Kleeburg will go to the city Audit Committee; Schroeder and Forsmann will go to the newly formed Public Works Advisory Commission; Kleeburg and Schroeder will go to the Lewis-Clark Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization; Liedkie will be the council liaison to the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport Authority Board; Tousley will represent the city at Association of Idaho Cities meetings with Kleeburg as an alternate; and Liedkie will represent the city for the Clearwater Economic Development Association with Kleeburg as an alternate.

The council also appointed Tousley as its new representative on the Lewiston Urban Renewal Agency, with Kleeburg as alternate. Councilors appointed Port of Lewiston Commissioner Joe Anderson as the port representative on the URA.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com.