Carleton College Purchases Building at 200 Division St.

has purchased the building at 200 Division St. in downtown Northfield, according to an email sent to Carleton faculty and staff from Fred Rogers, the college's vice president and treasurer.

The building, formerly known as the Medical Arts Building, houses many businesses, including  and .

In the email, Rogers says Carleton purchased the property for $38 per square foot for the 20,400-square foot building. That would make the purchase price $775,200. 

The property is valued at $796,900, according to Rice County property records. In 2011, the property was valued at $960,800.

Records show that the building was owned by Northfield Development Co., which also owns two buildings on Water Street, including the one that houses . 

Below is the full email from Rogers:

We are pleased to announce the purchase of the building at 200 Division Street, formerly known as the Medical Arts Building, in Northfield. The College has been a tenant in the building since 2005 when the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) relocated there. The acquisition is accompanied by a much-needed expansion of space for SERC operations, as well as the opportunity to relocate administrative functions out of core academic buildings on campus because of other vacancies in the building at this time. As a result, this initiative is intended to enable new and expanded academic space in key buildings on the west side of campus, without an ongoing impact on the operating budget of the College.

We believe this is a win for Carleton and a win for Northfield’s downtown. The College will effectively acquire new space in central campus, much cheaper than we could construct it. The office and professional uses of this important downtown building will be reinforced and increased. We intend to honor all existing leases and to leave the building on the tax roll at this time.

The three-story, 20,400-square foot building was constructed in 1948 and is adjacent to the campus. The building lot is about a third of an acre and includes 15 parking spaces. The purchase price of $38 per sq ft compares favorably with our recent experience in both Cassat & Memorial and the of about $300 per sq ft. Rent from SERC, which is funded by external grants, and from other non-Carleton tenants is expected to cover the operating costs of the building, including property taxes.

Purchasing 200 Division Street is a timely, strategic and economically advantageous opportunity for Carleton; however, it does not preclude the necessity for careful planning of what the College will do with the available space on campus. The Strategic Planning now underway is helping to establish the basis for more extensive space planning and assignment of space priorities. 

The College expects renovation work at the building to begin early this summer and be concluded before the end of the year.

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