---

With Commissioner Jim Swenson participating online to avoid conflict with picketing union employees — the full Chisago County Board agreed last week to terms for the sale of the old jail site.  All along the street leading to the Government Center union members involved in the Teamsters strike had launched  a presence, with vertical message pennants lining the access to the courthouse, roadside signage about unity, and  the unmistakable giant inflatable “fat cat.”  

The sale affects the parcels where the jail and a two story flat front stucco building were torn down years ago. The slightly-less than one acre parcel on North Center Lake was made level, seeded with ground cover and put on the market.  An initial round of bids had come in way low, and the county commissioners then put the parcel in the hands of real estate brokers.  

(The new jail/public safety center is east of Center City at Pleasant Valley and Per Road.)

High Pointe Land LLC offered $430,000, and  they have said the site will be developed as residential. The firm sometimes works with a developer or is involved in the land use directly, both approaches have been implemented.  High Pointe has three active projects in the area: the Villas on the old Lakeside School location, the approximately six lots on South Lindstrom Lake behind the library-clinic area and the pending Lake Martha Overlook development, in Chisago City.  

The jail sale agreement has an extensive closing timeframe to give time for the development to be reviewed by Center City Council, the Department of Natural Resources and other regulators.  The closing is slated for no later than the end of  December 2026. 

Chair Rick Greene said the Center City officials have expressed to him their willingness to cooperate on getting this property developed and  onto the tax rolls. 

Commissioner Marlys Dunne suggested the Board should put the anticipated revenue on a future agenda so there can be discussion about how to use the jail site proceeds.

---