Future of City Hall annex up in the air

BRAINERD — To sell or not to sell.

That is the question for Brainerd City Hall’s annex building.

The building connected to city hall sits on South Fifth Street is currently vacant. Half of the space was previously leased by the Driver’s License Bureau, which has not operated there since March 2020. Region Five expressed interest in 2021 in leasing a portion of the building as a satellite location in Brainerd. That proposal came with the need for repairs, but with increased construction costs and the distribution of funds from the Department of Employment and Economic Development Main Street grant, Region Five has nixed that idea.

A new roof was installed on the building in 2020, but the annex is in considerable need of updates and repairs to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system; window updates; elevator repairs and various cosmetic updates. The council allocated $160,000 for repairs in its capital plan, and those funds have been rolling over in the budget each year.

In May, the council authorized the Economic Development Authority to enter into a brokerage agreement with Kamp for the sale or lease of the annex. City staff have since received renewed interest from potential buyers. City Administrator Nick Broyles told the City Council during their meeting on Monday, Jan. 6, he wanted to get a feel for the members’ vision for the future of the building.

Broyles said he and staff anticipate future growth for Brainerd and the potential need for additional office space, as space is limited in City Hall.

“There may be significant benefits to retaining the annex for office space,” Broyles said. “Making necessary repairs to an existing building that we already own would be significantly more cost-effective than new construction.”

If the council were interested in selling the building, Broyles said staff would work with potential buyers to go that route. But if the council wants to keep the building, Broyles recommended making the necessary repairs sooner rather than later, as the building is quickly deteriorating without the HVAC updates.

Council President Mike O’Day said he’s open to any ideas, as the building has sat unused for some time now. For the right price, he said anything could be for sale, though he would also want more information about what kind of work the city would have to put into the building to retain it. Broyles said staff has not done the work yet to determine how much the building would cost to repair, as he did not want to dedicate staff time to that if the council was intent on selling.

Council member Kelly Bevans said it makes sense to him to keep the building, as that would be less expensive than buying another one or building something new if extra space is needed. He then made a motion directing staff to come back with more information on what the repairs would cost and what the city could use the building for.

That motion passed unanimously.The council adjourned to close session at the end of the meeting to consider offers for the sale of the annex but did not take any action on the matter.

THERESA BOURKE may be reached at [email protected] or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa .