Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The heirs to the original Shawano Medical Center property will get both a park and a cash settlement under an agreement approved this week by the Shawano Common Council.
The deal puts an end to months of negotiations and opens the way for development of the property after the hospital relocates this fall to a new site adjacent to ThedaCare Physicians on County Road B.
City officials will meet in closed session with three potential developers on April 15.
The city and ThedaCare entered into an agreement to market the property for development, but a deed restriction attached to the property more than 100 years ago, when the property was acquired by the city, had held up those plans.
The city acquired a roughly 3.5-acre parcel from Susan Smalley in 1901. According to the deed restriction, the property reverts back to the heirs if it is used for anything other than a park.
The site became home to Shawano Medical Center in 1931. Officials have no explanation for why a hospital was allowed to locate on the property.
SMC purchased additional land for expansion over the years, and the hospital campus now occupies about 10 acres. The deed restriction applied only to the original 3.5 acres.
Under the agreement approved Monday, the city will create a new Smalley Park along the Wolf River from Fifth through Third streets. It will include what is currently known as Wolf River Park.
The heirs will also get $250,000 in exchange for their rights to the original property. The cost will be shared by the city and ThedaCare.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said it’s hoped the city will recoup its share of the costs through development of the property.
The appraised value of the original 3.5-acre parcel is $875,000.
The appraised value of the new Smalley Park is $546,000.
The deal was unanimously approved at special back-to-back meetings of the Shawano Finance Committee and Common Council.
“The agreement honors the wishes of Susan Smalley’s heirs while creating a pathway for redevelopment of the Shawano Medical Center site,” the city and ThedaCare said in a joint statement. “The agreement is one result of a two-year partnership between ThedaCare and the city of Shawano.”
Mayor Lorna Marquardt said she was pleased with the agreement.
“We believe community members will be happy a portion of Smalley Park will remain a public property with river access,” she said.
“It represents our commitment to do what is right for the community,” SMC President Dorothy Erdmann said. “It shows that by working in partnership with the city, we can develop what will be an asset for the neighborhood and the city.”
City officials hired the law firm of Davis and Kuelthau in December 2012 to track down the heirs.
Eleven heirs were identified and contacted early last year.
The city budgeted $50,000 for Davis and Kuelthau, but their legal fees had come to $45,000 through February.
Knapp said he expects the total to exceed the budgeted amount by the time all the bills come in.