Sheboygan council OKs Social Security building purchase

Sheboygan's leaders have said they would prefer prioritizing keeping, and remodeling, City Hall over other options to vacate the building and move city operations elsewhere.
McLean Bennett/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

SHEBOYGAN - Common Council members voted Monday night to approve purchasing, for $285,000, the former downtown Social Security office building where Sheboygan officials plan to house some municipal workers during a planned renovation project at nearby City Hall.

In separate unanimous votes Monday night, the council authorized both the building purchase and an accompanying appropriation in this year’s budget to fund the move. The building that once housed Social Security operations sits at 606 N. Ninth Street, across the street from City Hall.

The city is planning what could be a $10.5 million project to remodel its downtown municipal headquarters. But while that work is ongoing — it could start sometime next year and wrap up in late spring of 2019 — staff in some departments would work out of the smaller building across the street.

Workers in the city’s finance and building inspection departments and the city clerk’s office are expected to work temporarily out of the building, Chad Pelishek, the city's planning and development director, said at Monday's meeting.

City Administrator Darrell Hofland said officials had considered renting temporary office space instead, but said they’re looking to buy the property to take advantage of its closeness to City Hall and to spur potential new uses for the building someday.

“It will give us flexibility … to either consider further municipal use, or to use it for purposes of redevelopment or business attraction,” Hofland said.

Pelishek said the city has no concrete plans yet to use the facility beyond the City Hall renovation project, but noted he expects opportunities will materialize.

“I think it’s really kind of a strategically located piece of land,” Council member Mary Lynne Donohue said, concurring with others who spoke about development opportunities the purchase could eventually enable.

The building is currently vacant after its previous occupants left to work out of another building on the city’s west side, said Mayor Mike Vandersteen before Monday’s meeting.

Costs to purchase the building actually totaled $278,000. The slightly higher figure approved Monday covers title insurance and closing costs related to the purchase.

Reach McLean Bennett at 920-453-5133, mbennett2@gannett.com or @Bennett_McLean on Twitter.