An unsolicited offer to sell a piece of land to the city of New Hope was declined on Oct. 13.

The New Hope City Council heard the offer from Ray Kmetz to sell his property at 2919 Nevada Ave. N. to the city for $950,000.

The offer was relayed to the city through Kmetz's attorney, Larry Marofsky.

City Manager Kirk McDonald told the council the property, consisting of a single-family home and a contracting business, is located in an industrial zoning district.

"The city has no development plans for the property," said McDonald, who added the market value of the property is $255,000.

Marofsky told the council the market value of the property is $435,000, which is the value of the house alone, not the entire parcel. The industrial portion is valued at an additional $180,000, he said.

"If the whole property were industrial, I would suggest [the market value] would be substantially higher," Marofsky said.

A memo to the council from Community Development Director Curtis Jacobsen stated, "The council has historically considered all offers to sell property to the city on the individual merits of the offer, the redevelopment objective in that area, and the financial position of the city."

Mayor Martin Opem said the city is currently concentrating its redevelopment efforts on the southeast corner of 42nd and Winnetka avenues.

"We don't have the money to purchase this [Kmetz] property, and we don't have a use for the property," he said.

Opem noted a commercial parcel just south of Kmetz's property, vacated by the Egan Companies at 7100 Medicine Lake Road three years ago, is still empty and without a buyer.

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