St. Coletta purchases addressed

By Rachel Primmer for the Daily Times
Friday, April 11, 2008 1:51 PM CDT

JEFFERSON - Members of the Jefferson Common Council, Planning Commission and Redevelopment Authority gathered Thursday for a presentation on the proposed offer-to-purchase and redevelopment of 174 acres of the St. Coletta campus. The potential redevelopment of the St. Coletta campus is conceivably one of the biggest projects the city of Jefferson has taken on in years.

The Simon Group, based in Brookfield, has been working toward the purchase of the land and buildings for about a year and is awaiting final approval for financial consideration.

Scott Simon, president of the Simon Group, explained the preliminary development maps for Sanctuary Ridge, which delineate each of the two proposed phases and identify the commercial and residential development areas. New residential development will include multifamily condominiums as well as single-family housing.

Simon also presented the group with information about proposed usages for the existing buildings and noted the Simon Group intends to retain as much of the historical buildings and aspects of the buildings as possible. Professional and retail outfits have already shown an interest in filling the proposed-use spaces within the development.

Buildings in the 174-acre purchase include the administration building; the chapel, gymnasium and natatorium; the St. James and St. Theresa schools; Serra Hall; St. Anastasia Hall; St. Francis Hall; and Hasket Hall. Ideas for the administration building include farmers' market type retail space for a bakery, deli, ice cream parlor, florist, book store, butcher shop and coffee shop on the first floor. The second floor could house home furnishings and antiques while plans for the third floor include artistic studios.

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Serra Hall, St. Anastasia Hall, St. Francis Hall and Hasket Hall will potentially house medical care, professional and administrative offices. The combined chapel, gymnasium and natatorium will likely be dedicated to health club space and the schools hold opportunity for dining, convention and banquet hall facilities.

A representative from the St. Coletta organization, which has been a part of the Jefferson community for approximately 140 years, briefly addressed the joint meeting members. She indicated they are anticipating a successful outcome with this endeavor and St. Coletta's is grateful the Simon Group will be diligently working to preserve the historic integrity of the buildings and the site.

Dawn Gunderson, financial adviser/vice president of Ehlers and Associates, presented their financial feasibility analysis for the proposed Tax Increment District (TID) #6. City of Jefferson Administrator Tim Freitag pointed out the redevelopment of the St. Coletta campus will be complicated and expensive, so a TID is definitely needed.

St. Coletta's is currently a tax-exempt entity. As soon as the proposed sale is complete, portions of the property will revert to the tax roll. Other sections of the development will follow as portions of the two phases are completed.

City of Jefferson Mayor Gary Myers reminded the joint meeting members the Simon Group is under a time contract for purchase, so work will need to be done quickly and carefully in order to get the project moving. Myers indicated the city would need to draft a memo of understanding with the developer to show the city is taking this project seriously. He also mentioned Ehlers will need to verify funding requests, the plan commission will be dealing with zoning issues and the city council will be working on the developer's agreement.