Public Notices

Open for public input: Proposed park on Adams Avenue

The City of Albert Lea plans to apply for a $1.25 million federal grant to help remove hazardous buildings and their contents – known as the Merrick facility – at 620 Adams Ave. The city would like to gauge public support for the following three options for the site.

All three options would include parking for proposed Songbird Trail along the former UP rail corridor. The City of Albert Lea and Freeborn County have received some grant money to start developing this trail that would eventually run from Front Street to Shoff Park, across Minnesota Highway 13, and then to Hartland.

1. Mini Park: Remove all the buildings and develop a minimal park with greenspace and trail.
2. Mixed Use Area: Remove the hazardous buildings and leave the three structurally sound buildings on the north end to sell to a private industry or business. The City would develop the remaining greenspace into a trailhead with parking and perhaps other amenities.
3. Full Trailhead: Remove buildings and develop a full trailhead with parking, a shelter, restrooms and other amenities. This option could also include leaving the three structurally sound buildings on the north end to sell to a private industry or business.

Background

The city acquired the 1.37-acre site through tax forfeiture WHEN after the former owner, Merrick’s of Minnesota, went bankrupt and abruptly abandoned the site. The company manufactured animal feed and feed ingredients. The site includes a series of buildings that need to have asbestos removed, along with materials such as bird feces, improperly stored cleaning supplies and chemicals. The soil underneath may also be contaminated from materials seeping from the buildings, and would need to be remediated. In addition, some of the buildings are structurally unsound and need to be removed.

Removing the materials is estimated at $850,000 with demolition costs depending on the number of buildings removed. The city may be able to salvage some buildings for sale to a private business.

Benefits of proposed project

Benefits of the cleanup include:

• Protecting public safety by removing the environmental hazards of the existing structures.
• Protecting public safety by reducing soil contamination at the site.
• Removing blight from the area.
• Improving lake water quality by increasing stormwater treatment and reducing runoff.
• Benefits of developing a park and trailhead include:
• Improving aesthetics of the site.
• Improving access for residents and visitors to the proposal trail.
• Supporting tourism and its economic benefits through trail access.

Next steps

The City of Albert Lea will incorporate public input into the application for the grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If receiving the grant, then the City Council will decide on the next steps in early 2026.

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How to learn more and provide input

• Learn more, ask questions and submit comments at an open house on Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 4 – 6 p.m. at City Hall,
  221 E. Clark St. The open house will be held in the City Council Chambers on the top floor of City Hall.

• Send questions and comments to:
  Building Official Wayne Sorensen
  City of Albert Lea
  221 E. Clark St., Albert Lea, MN  56007
  wsorensen@ci.albertlea.mn.us.

The deadline for comments is 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 3.

To be helpful, comments should include your preference for one of the three options for the site and why you support that option. Comments on the potential impact to the surrounding neighborhood and community as a whole would also be helpful.

The City of Albert Lea is applying for federal grant to remove hazardous buildings and their contents at 620 Adams Ave., formerly used by a private business to manufacture animal feed. The city acquired the site after the business went bankrupt and abandoned the site.