Nursing home buyer wants county to pick up tab for asbestos removal
Jos. Schmidt and Sons struck a deal for the old Sunny Ridge Nursing Home in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin back in November of last year. For a purchase price of $400,000, the developer purchased the six-story building plus the nearly 13 acres it sits on. Now the deal is back in negotiations due to a recent study that found asbestos in the heating and ventilation systems. The new study was conducted at the behest of a company Schmidt wants to sell the building to, Real Estate Equities, a developer with plans to renovate the building into apartments for seniors.
The county maintains that it acted in good faith without knowledge of the asbestos, which was not found in an earlier study. Schmidt wants the cost of the removal, $56,310, plus a consulting fee of $10,000, knocked off the purchase price.
The county board of commissioners is reluctantly willing to consider negotiations, but notes that this was a business deal already agreed to. The county board has authorized County Corporation Counsel Carl Buesing to make a counter offer. They will agree to pay half the cost of asbestos removal with some stipulations. Jos. Schmidt and Sons, the company that, incidentally, built the building in 1971, is expected to meet the county halfway. Both parties are confident that an agreement can be reached.
For the full story, go to Sheboygan Press.
