Creating a subdivision implies turning a large lot into smaller ones. The Portage Plan Commission did the opposite on Monday.
Four parcels totaling 4.33 acres were turned into two commercial lots worth about $100,000 apiece.
The land in the 5750 block of Old Porter Road is owned by the city’s Redevelopment Commission, left over from an Old Porter Road reroute project about a decade ago. That project meant building an entrance to Marina Drive that curves behind the properties, eliminating the need for large trucks to make hard right turns.
But the four lots, now two, along U.S. 20 were stranded.
“It’s been sitting there for years now,” RDC real estate consultant Bill Rathjen, of McColly Bennett, told the Plan Commission.
At last week’s RDC meeting, Rathjen said he had a potential buyer and would make a counteroffer approved by the RDC that included giving the buyer 90 days to obtain all the necessary approvals, including any zoning changes necessary.
Selling the lots for commercial development will mean not only bringing revenue from the sale of the property to the RDC but also generating property tax revenue, making the orphaned property productive again.
“Bill’s done a great job getting this property ready for sale,” Planning and Community Development Director Tom Cherry said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
