STURGIS, S.D. – Sturgis City Manager Daniel Ainslie says they are moving forward with appraisals and inspections of a building they are interested in making a future events center, although some other prospects have surfaced since last month’s discussion.
The council signed a purchase agreement on the property, known as Mr. Al’s on Main Street last month, but a lot of work remains before an actual deal could be struck.
“We have contracted with a client to do the appraisal and they did the on site evaluation last week. It will probably be a couple of weeks before we get those. Once we get those in, we will include the summary in the future council packet. In addition, we contracted Alberston Engineering to do the structural analysis. Once we get that report, we will forward on to the council as well.”
For the environmental, Ainslie says there doing a phase one as well as asbestos testing.
Ainslie says they are also looking at the old Massa Berry Clinic building off Lazelle Street. He says the property is less than the Mr. Al’s building and is a newer structure. However, he says the remodeling cost would be higher.
“The remodeling cost would actually be higher because there are so many interior walls that would need to be removed to create a larger, more open area, but there are definately some enhancements that could be made, so there are some reason as to that may be a better spot. The issue that we have is that when you look at the potential rally income, which does not mean that has to fully fund it, but when you at Mr. Al’s, the vast majority of the debt service, if not all the debt service, would be able to be carried through the historical rally income we could receive if we owned that. That could not be said at the Massa Berry Building.”
Ainslie says in talking with the owners there, on average, they receive about five to ten-thousand dollars annually through the rally.
“I have been working with the rally department to see if there are some other ways that we could realistically look at using that during the rally to make up some of the difference. We think we could increase it beyond the five to ten thousand, but not to the point that it would be able to be fully carried by the income that would be made there during the rally.”
Ainslie says the fact that the former Boulder Canyon Convention Center is under new, private ownership, has subsequently added another possible alternative.
The convention center used to serve as the prime location for events that Sturgis is looking to host in a new events center. The convention center closed earlier this year prompting the city to begin searching for a new location for an events center.
