WILLMAR - The Willmar School Board has chosen a site for a new elementary school near the intersection of Willmar Avenue and Lakeland Drive in southeastern Willmar.
The School Board voted unanimously to make an offer and begin negotiations for the purchase of the land following a 35-minute closed meeting to discuss options.
The land will be the location of a new PreK-5 elementary school. It’s the largest project in a district-wide construction program planned for the next two years. The district’s voters approved the $52.35 million building program in a referendum in May.
A purchase price will not be available until final agreement has been reached.
Board Chairwoman Liz VanDerBill was reluctant Monday to discuss other details about the sale. She said the Hawkinson property “appears to be a good option for the district.”
The open land, known as the Hawkinson site, is among three open sites in that part of town that have been under consideration since May.
The Hawkinson site is an L-shaped parcel north of Willmar Avenue and east of Lakeland Drive, near the Kandiyohi County Family YMCA. In discussions in May, the district’s architect said the property has good access to Lakeland Drive and good access to utilities.
The other two sites were the Gesch site, a parcel of open land west of Lakeland Drive Southeast and southeast of the former Lincoln Elementary School, and the Duininck site, south of 19th Avenue Southeast, east of Ninth Street Southeast and northwest of the Highway 23/71 bypass.
The Duininck land has recently been the focus of city of Willmar discussions about street improvements.
Last summer, negotiations focused more on the other two sites, but the Hawkinson property remained in the running.
VanDerBill did not go into detail about why that site was ultimately chosen.
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