The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has voted to put 36 acres of property in Three Oaks that were once part of a failed development up for sale.
The Schwark Drainage District is located at 6974 US-12 and was eyed for a residential development back in the 2000s. The county drain commissioner at the time borrowed money to improve the land, but the county treasurer later foreclosed on the developer for unpaid property taxes, leaving the county with $551,000 in debt. The board of commissioners paid off that debt last year and is now looking to rid itself of the land.
Speaking at Thursday’s regular commission meeting, Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette said following approval of the listing agreement, the parcel will be up for grabs.
“It will go live for 30 days,” Dissette said. “At that time, any buy-sell agreement will be brought back to the board for consideration. I’m pretty confident you’ll have at least two opportunities to consider buy-sell agreements, and I’m hopeful that there could be more.”
The village of Three Oaks is one possible buyer. Dissette said commissioners will have multiple opportunities to consider offers at future meetings. Past proposals for the property have included residential and recreational developments, and even a solar farm.
The county’s listed selling price for the property is $600,000. You can find the listing here.
