The City of Platteville has decided to sell 12 of the 15 houses formerly owned by Platteville landlord Darrel L. Kallembach.
The houses will be sold through Requests for Proposals, which the Platteville Common Council is scheduled to discuss Tuesday, instead of through a more conventional house sale process.
“The goal is to make these safe and productive properties for the city inventory,” said City Manager Larry Bierke. “We want the properties to be taxpaying, we want them to be safe for students, and as a city we want to make back any funds that we’ve invested.”
The city has spent almost $350,000 on the 15 properties, from paying liens and lawn mowing. The city used $288,341.96 of the $366,765.38 of fines and interest on Kallembach’s 19 properties in successfully bidding on 15 of them in the January 2013 sheriff’s sale. The city’s successful bids ranged from $12,927.25 on the property at 185 Center St. to $30,000 for the property at 1536 County B in the Town of Platteville.
The $366,765.38 in fines and interest came from more than 100 citations Kallembach was issued for violations of city ordinances between 2008 and 2010.
The Common Council decided on selling 12 of the 15 houses after a three-hour-long bus tour May 8. The other three houses, at 222 and 230 N. Elm St., 160 E. Mineral St., and 85 N. Water St., won’t be sold immediately.
“The city council decided that those three houses need further review,” said Bierke. “They’re not committed to anything with those houses yet, except they will not be put up for sale with the first effort.”
The sale of three of the houses may be delayed because of a pending court case filed by Kallembach’s father, Leonard, to stop the sales at 235 N. Third St., 430 S. Chestnut St., and County B. A hearing on Leonard Kallembach’s motion will be held in Dane County Circuit Court in Madison Friday at 3:30 p.m.
If Leonard Kallembach’s injunction is denied, Bierke said the city will move to annex the County B property into the city.
Bierke said some buyers may decide to live in the houses, some may rent them out, and others may bulldoze them and build new buildings on the site. Bierke said the houses at 420 and 440 Southwest Road, for example, may be combined into one bid. Those houses are in R-3 Multifamily Residential zoning.
“We’re going to require some stuff, and what that stuff is will be decided on the 27th,” he said. “As a city, w’re going to try to do what’s best for the residents and future residents of the city.”
When completed, the RFPs will be available on the city’s website, www.platteville.org.
Bierke said the goal is to have the houses sold and new owners complete renovations, including bringing up the houses to building code, in time for the fall semester at UW–Platteville.
Kallembach’s houses at 605 and 605½ Southwest Road and 465 Division St. were purchased by Laufenberg & Larson Properties, LLC. The houses at 390 W. Pine St. and 540 E. Mineral St. were purchased by R&M J&S Rentals, LLC.
