Fate of Riverwalk project still unknown
By Paul Sloth
Journal Times | Posted: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 12:00 am
BURLINGTON - A local developer has put his riverfront property on the market for $4 million, more than a year after his ambitious development project stalled.
Charles Mesec, a Burlington dentist turned developer, hopes to find a buyer or somebody to lease the property along the Fox River to complete the project that he started.
Mesec's real estate agent, Jack Baker of Coldwell Banker Primus in Lake Geneva, put the property on the market last week.
Baker said his client is willing to sell the property outright or will participate with a buyer/leasee to complete the project.
"We just want to get the property developed," Baker said.
Mesec started his $3 million project nearly two years ago with the intent of building himself a new office and finding other businesses to lease the rest of the space in the 26,700-square-foot building.
In addition to making room for his growing dental business, he wanted to provide more professional office space near downtown Burlington, Mesec said in 2007.
Things soured when the economy cooled and prospective tenants backed away from the project, which left Mesec without the money he needed to continue.
All that stands on the property is a couple of three-story cinder-block monoliths.
The general contractor, Magill Construction Co. Inc., stopped work and found itself the subject of lawsuits from a few sub-contractors.
At this time last year, the property had nearly $600,000 in liens against it. At least one of the lawsuits was settled out of court in July.
Burlington purchased the land, a former brownfield site, from We Energies. The site needed to be cleaned before it could be developed.
Mesec worked out a development agreement with the City of Burlington to complete the project. Mesec's building permit for the project expires in December, City Administrator Kevin Lahner said.
The city could begin the process of taking the property back at that time, Lahner said.
"We'd like to see the project completed as planned," Lahner said earlier. "We're as frustrated as anyone to not see it move forward."
Anyone interested in the property would have to comply with the city's development agreement, which means completing the project as originally proposed, Lahner said
Wednesday.
Lahner said he learned last week that the property was put up for the sale.
"This is a disappointing development. It's clear that the original developer is not able to finish the project and he has not worked out a deal with any other development group,"
Lahner said Wednesday.
Lahner said he and other city officials are limited in what they can say about the project at this point, due to the fact that there was litigation involved. Up to this point, communication with Mesec has been done through the city's attorney, Tom Kircher.
If the city were to take the property back, city officials would evaluate a couple of options, Lahner said.
The city could continue to pursue the original approved plan; or pursue a new plan and market it differently to a new developer or development group; or just hang on to the property for a while and wait for the economy to improve, Lahner said.
The parcel of land is the last in the city's riverfront redevelopment project, a project that included the Boardwalk Apartments complex across Adams Street from the Mesec project.
"It is the last piece of that puzzle and it is the last developable piece (along that stretch of the river). It is a very gorgeous piece of property," Lahner said.
Mesec could not be reached for comment Wednesday.