Bozeman selling City Hall on own

By AMANDA RICKER Chronicle Staff Writer

The city of Bozeman is trying to save money by selling City Hall without using a real estate agent, but some say it would be in the taxpayers’ best interest to hire a professional.

KRISTA MILLER-LARSON/CHRONICLE Kathy Tanner drops off her utility bill Friday at City Hall in downtown Bozeman. “Great sign,” Tanner said, explaining that it appears to be selling the city. Bids to buy the appraised $1.68 million City Hall at 411 W. Main St. are due by Friday, but a week before the deadline the city hadn’t received one.

“Typically, bids come in the day that they’re due,” Brit Fontenot, assistant to the city manager, said. “I’ve received a lot of phone calls, but not any bids.”

Employees will move from the current City Hall into their new space in the renovated former city library, at 220 E. Lamme St., in mid-September.

The Gallatin Association of Realtors isn’t pleased with the city’s decision to list City Hall on its own, but a Montana League of Cities and Towns spokesman said cities do it all the time.

Colette Lang, executive vice president of the Gallatin Association of Realtors, said taxpayers’ money would be better spent by hiring a real estate agent. Without one, City Hall could sit on the market for awhile.

“Realtors have data and they have specialized knowledge,” Lang said. “It’s in the best interest of the taxpayers to have a professional looking out for their best interest.”

However, Alec Hanson, executive director of the Montana League of Cities and Towns, said cities often buy, sell and lease property on their own. He declined to say whether cities usually are successful selling properties on their own, citing a lack of hard data.

“There’s nothing in the law that requires it (a Realtor),” he said.

Fontenot said the city felt it had enough in-house specialists to handle the sale.

“Selling a commercial property at a very visible location, it just isn’t necessary” to hire a Realtor, he said. “It’s not unusual, nor is it precedent setting.”

The city sold retail space at the new downtown parking garage on its own. In that case, the city found a buyer for the space about a month and a half after it began accepting bids. The 9,775 square feet of space sold for $1.3 million, about $65,000 more than the appraised value per square foot, Finance Director Anna Rosenberry said.

“Ultimately, it was successful,” Fontenot said.

By law, Bozeman cannot accept less than 90 percent of City Hall’s appraised value.

The city was open to taking bids for the property as early as July 22, Rosenberry said, but she echoed Fontenot in saying none are usually received until the day of the deadline.

Amanda Ricker can be reached at aricker@dailychronicle.com or 582-2628.

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