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Dollars to prevent demolition

Published (4/4/2008)
By Courtney Blanchard
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What can you do with an eight-story gothic tower built more than 100 years ago? Don’t demolish it!

That’s what Fergus Falls Mayor Russ Anderson told the House Property Tax Relief and Local Sales Tax Division March 28.

The Department of Human Services is phasing out its use of the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center, built in the 1880s to treat the mentally ill. The historic Kirkbride building is in good condition; but without any purpose, it will likely be torn down, Anderson said.

Fergus Falls businessman Richard Anderson is turning to an unlikely source for help: China. He and other community members are partnering with officials from the Hunan province of China to develop an Institute for Cross Cultural Studies in Fergus Falls. The plan calls for the Kirkbride building to be converted to dorms, classrooms and a campus, which would accommodate about 1,000 students. Financial support for the project would be split between Chinese and U.S. sources.

“We know what will happen if this project will not come to fruition, and we’re talking about some $7 million effort to demolish that very property,” Russ Anderson told the division. “We need your help to make this project work.”

Rep. Bud Nornes (R-Fergus Falls) sponsors HF3064, which would give the school a 15-year exemption on property taxes. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the division’s omnibus bill. Sen. Dan Skogen (DFL-Hewitt) sponsors the companion, SF2713, which awaits a hearing in the Senate Taxes Committee.

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