Dymaxion Development Purchases the Wilson Center

Named in honor of a 17-year-old St. Johns student who died in the influenza outbreak of 1918, the Rodney B. Wilson Center once served as a high school, a junior high, an alternative education center and, most recently, as a rentable space used by various community groups.

In 2017 St. Johns Public Schools (SJPS) convened a series of public meetings to engage the community in discussions regarding the possible repurposing of the Wilson Center facilities.

There were two unsuccessful attempts by a developer to secure Low Income Housing Tax Credits to create senior housing, at which time the property reverted back to SJPS.

In May of 2020, SJPS received three bids for the Wilson Center: one from developers Ken and Chris Harris, one from Dymaxion and one from Clinton County.  SJPS rejected the County’s offer because it stipulated SJPS would have to cover the costs to demolish the Wilson Center.  Both SJPS and Clinton County estimates put the demolition costs at nearly $1.8 million, which would have cost SJPS more than the sale of the property.

In Spring 2021, Dymaxion Development won the bid to purchase the Wilson Center property from St. Johns Public Schools. During the bid process, SJPS requested that the developer allow the gym and auditorium to remain public spaces available for community use. Dymaxion agreed to SJPS’s request.  In March 2022, Dymaxion hosted a public open house to discuss the future redevelopment of the property.

Because the property was a school, it was zoned a “municipal center.”  Dymaxion proposed to rezone the property to allow for mixed-use and multi-family development.  Over the next four months, the City Planning Commission held several public meetings on Dymaxion’s rezoning application, including a special City Commission meeting to tour the Wilson Center. As part of the rezoning, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) boundaries were expanded to include the Wilson Center parcel.  This expansion allows the DDA to capture revenue from the new parcel, generating an estimated additional $30,000 annually, which can be used by the DDA to support downtown development.

In July 2022 the City Planning Commission recommended the full City Commission’s approval of Dymaxion’s rezoning application. The City Commission reviewed the proposal and the Planning Commission’s recommendation. After an opportunity for the public to tour the Wilson Center, the City Commission conditionally approved the rezoning application, requiring Dymaxion to develop a minimum of 95 on-street parking spaces.  

Because of the property’s brownfield designation, the developer approached the City asking for a brownfield tax abatement to help fund the asbestos and contaminant cleanup costs. The proposed tax abatement proposal would capture all taxes paid on the property for a specific time and dedicate those monies toward brownfield remediation costs associated with the Wilson Center cleanup and remediation. Those “captured” tax dollars would otherwise be allocated to City of St. Johns operating funds and solid waste program; 911 Emergency Services; Clinton Transit System; St. Johns Schools operating funds and debt service; Briggs District Library; Clinton County tax allocation; State education tax; Streets and Sidewalk improvement program; Act 359 and Clinton County Regional Educational Service Agency operating funds, special education and vocational education programs.

Dymaxion estimated needing $800,000 in tax abatement funds: approximately $550,000 for the clean-up and $250,000 for the brownfield management and financing. If granted the brownfield tax abatement, Dymaxion would secure a loan for the full amount of the brownfield remediation, then use the tax abatement funds to pay back the loan over a 21-year period. Twenty-one years is the estimated amount of time to collect the taxes needed to pay the $800,000 estimated for the abatement.

The City of St. Johns Explores Purchasing a Portion of the Wilson Center

As an alternative to the brownfield tax abatement, the City began discussing the possibility of purchasing the Wilson Center’s gym and auditorium at a price of $550,000 which would provide Dymaxion funds necessary for the remediation while saving approximately $250,000 in finance charges and preventing the diversion of tax revenues from the City, County, SJPS, library and more. Dymaxion would remain responsible for the entire cost of remediation and clean-up of the site, including any spaces purchased by the City.  

If the sale goes through, the City would own the gym and auditorium, ensuring the space remains available for community use. As part of the City’s plan, the gym and auditorium would be renovated for City programming, and for rental by community organizations and private individuals. The availability for City programming is particularly important because SJPS has stated that both its auditoriums and gyms are regularly at capacity for school activities. Other than the occasional one-time use, the school district does not have available facilities for regular use by any outside group.

Advantages of ownership include the City being able to apply for grant funds that would not be available if the City simply rented the space. Likewise, revenue from gym and auditorium rentals could help expand the use of these spaces by underwriting City staffing dedicated to handling venue marketing and booking the facilities ensuring the community is aware the space is available and being used as often as possible.

The City Considers – and Decides Against – Moving Offices to the Wilson Center

Note: At a special meeting on April 4, 2023, the City Commission voted 3-2 to remove the purchase of office space in the Wilson Center from further consideration.  The following information provides background for this portion of the project.

The City of St. Johns’ current office space is located within the Clinton County Courthouse building, across the street from the Wilson Center. When the City moved into the courthouse in 2000, they paid the County $1,067,835 and signed a prepaid, 99-year lease for $1 per year, with the stipulation that if the City moved from the Courthouse, the County would return the $1.06 million to the City.

In 2019, the City took action to “right-size” their space, selling a portion of its office space back to Clinton County for a pro-rated value of $205,024.  The City subsequently earmarked those proceeds for capital purchases. The City now maintains $862,811 in equity which is held by the County until the City vacates its current office space. The equity is fixed, meaning it does not increase in value over time and the City does not earn interest on its equity. As a result, it’s estimated that the value of the $862,811 decreases by $13,000 every year.

While the City owns it space, it’s contractually obligated to pay an annual amount to the County to cover a portion of overhead costs such as security, building maintenance, and other Clinton County operating costs.  The amount is currently $87,000 per year.

To maximize the value of the $862,811 equity and to consider reducing related overhead costs, the City has explored options for new office space to access its equity and reduce its occupancy overhead costs by as much as a half (i.e., $45,000). Over the course of 20 years, through its current arrangement, it’s estimated that the City will lose $260,000 in equity value while also spending $900,000 in overhead beyond what it would in another office setting. In 12 years, alone, the City estimates the annual overhead cost savings would have offset the purchase cost of the new space.

After assessing the available options and opportunities, the City proposed buying an additional space for City offices from Dymaxion for $438,800 in conjunction with the gym and auditorium purchase. The proposed City-owned space at the Wilson Center would have been easily accessible by the public. It represented less square footage than the current space in the County building, while providing a more efficient office layout. The plans included a new City Commission chambers to be designed as a multi-use space that could be available for rent by the community as well, and a kitchen area for dual purpose use for event concessions.

At the Wilson Center, it’s estimated the City would have paid around $45,000 in annual overhead charges – about half of what they currently pay to the County each year for similar services. In 12 years, the City estimates that the costs savings in annual overhead would have offset the purchase cost of the new space.

Estimates for Renovations and Maintenance Costs

In addition to the purchase costs of the gym, auditorium and office space, the City estimates renovations to the gym at approximately $400,000, the auditorium at $450,000, and the office space at $1,000,000, as well as $150,000 in other costs for an ADA entrance and limestone work. These rough estimates will be refined by an architect hired to develop detailed construction documents. The City Commission will review a quote for construction documents for the gym and auditorium at its meeting on April 24, 2023. Based on the City Commission’s April 4 vote not to proceed with the purchase of office space in the Wilson Center, detailed cost estimates for that initiative will not be developed.

The City is still negotiating the distribution of responsibility for maintenance costs at the Wilson Center.  This will be established in the condominium documents.

Special Meeting: September 12, 2023

Q&A from the 9/12 Special Meeting

Key Milestones and Current Status

In September 2022, after discussion at several public City Commission meetings, the City Commission approved an agreement for the City to purchase the gym, auditorium, and office space from Dymaxion.

In October 2022, the City Commission approved a notice of intent to bond for up to $3.5 million to finance the Wilson Center gym, auditorium and city office space purchase and renovations. This allows the City to bond for a lesser amount, but not an amount above $3.5 million.

In March 2023, the City Commission approved seeking construction document quotes for the gym and auditorium.

In April 2023, per a vote at the Special Meeting, the City Commission voted to no longer proceed with the purchase of office space in the Wilson Center.  Therefore, there will be no detailed cost estimates for the renovation of that portion of the space.

In September 2023, a special meeting was held to discuss the Wilson Center.  This meeting included a presentation by the developer, summary and status of the purchase agreement, considerations and influences of decisions, Wilson Center "By the Numbers", and review of proposed development documents, including the development agreement and master deed (condominium bylaws and subdivision plan).

On October 10, 2023, the City Commission unanimously approved the following documents regarding the Wilson Center project:

• Amendment to the Purchase Agreement, adding the purchase of a community room, kitchen/concessions, and storage area
• Condominium Bylaws
• Development Agreement
• Master Deed

This approval cues Dymaxion to begin remediation work on the building. Pending completion of the work and a successful inspection, the City will take possession of the property in the spring.

At the regular meeting of the City Commission on October 23, 2023, options were presented as to the different funding levels for the entire project costs associated with the buildout of the Wilson Community center.  It was decided at this meeting that a not to exceed cost of $3.0 million would be used in paying for all facets of the initial Wilson Center costs that include; property acquisition, engineering design, bidding services, common space improvement costs and construction costs associated with the buildout of the City’s Unit #1 space (auditorium, gym, community room and concession/kitchen areas).

In December 2023, at a regular meeting, the city commission approved two agreements with Studio Intrigue.  Studio Intrigue has been the shared architect of both the City and 101 W. Cass St., LLC.  Studio Intrigue has worked throughout the planning and preliminary design phase of this project.

The first agreement is for the design and bidding services for the buildout of the common space of the Wilson Center Condominium Development.  The City, as a requirement of the Development Agreement, must hold the contract for design and construction of the Common Space during its original buildout.  The agreement requires that 50% of all costs for renovation of common space elements to be shared, each by the developer and the City. 

The second agreement is for the design and bidding services for the buildout of unit #1 condominium space at the Wilson Center.   As part of the Development Agreement and Master Deed Agreements, the City is required to begin design services for improvements to the gym, auditorium, community room, concession/kitchen area and storage and hallway areas, collectively referred to as the Unit #1 space of the condominium development.