Authority sells Barker’s Island property

The third time proved to be the charm for a housing development proposal by the Barker’s Island Development Corp.

Twice struck down over the last decade, the city’s Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday approved the sale of nearly three acres of land and approved a development agreement with the corporation that originally developed housing on the island starting in 1989.

Today, the 27 homes built on 10 acres of land that originally cost $300,000 when it was sold are worth about $10 million dollars and make a significant contribution to Superior’s tax base, said Jack Culley, president of the development corporation.

The project approved Wednesday will add up to 12 additional homes on Marina Drive and as many as three more on the waterfront facing Minnesota Point. Whether the nine building sites create will bear single-family or duplex style homes will be determined by the market, Culley said.

The corporation will pay $225,000 for the remaining three acres of developable land on the manmade island. Culley said the corporation will establish the utilities and prepare the building sites.

Preparation of the sites is slated to begin by May 2012 with completion expected at the end of that year.

Port and Planning Director Jason Serck said the project is a good addition to the island and the previous development proved to be a plus for the city.

While plans to develop in the early part of the decade were defeated by residents of the island persuading the council the additional development would negatively impact the neighborhood, some of those residents came out in favor of the proposal over a plan to build 38 townhouses on four acres on the island.

No one addressed the Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday during a public hearing on the sale.

The panel gave unanimous support to the project.

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