District finalizes purchase of Muscatell Super Center for new transportation building
June 19, 2017
The Moorhead School Board approved the purchase of Ward Muscatell Super Center at 1313 30th Ave. S., Moorhead, for a new transportation and operations center for the district.
The board gave preliminary approval for the $2.7 million purchase on April 10. At that time the purchase agreement was pending approval of a conditional use permit with the City of Moorhead and completion of a facility inspection. Those have been completed, said Brandon Lunak, assistant superintendent of finance and operations.
The district will share space temporarily with Muscatell while the business builds a new facility, Lunak said at the May 22 board meeting.
The cost for the site will be paid from the district’s current budget for facilities. Other facility projects will be delayed to adjust the budget to accommodate the purchase.
The need for a new transportation facility was addressed during the development of the district’s facilities master plan in 2014-15. The evaluation of the current transportation building at 1304 15th Ave. N., Moorhead, found the 15,974-square-foot building in poor condition and in need of numerous corrections. The plan, which was accepted by the board in February 2015, called for substantial renovation or full replacement of the facility.
The Muscatell building is approximately 30,000 square feet on a 7.2-acre site. This would allow for future expansion to house all of the district’s vehicles.
Additionally the new site would allow for central delivery and warehousing, which the district currently does not have, Lunak said. In the future a centralized food preparation kitchen could be considered.
“This fits into plans we have been making,” said Bill Tomhave, School Board chair. “I think this is going to be a real asset to the district at a reasonable price.”
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