By Hub City Times staff

MARSHFIELD – Marshfield officials will get the current home of city government appraised, as they take the next step in selling the property to a developer.

The Marshfield Common Council voted last night to allow City Administrator Steve Barg to sign an engagement letter with Scott Williams Appraisal of Wausau. Barg told the Council it’s the next step in the process of selling the property to a developer, as city government gears up to move to its new home in the current Forward Financial building.

“We are in active negotiations with a developer on the sale and redevelopment of City Hall Plaza,” Barg said. “As part of it, recently, we’ve been trying to get an appraisal for this building, because, obviously, its value is zero on the books right now as an assessed value – that doesn’t give a value of what the true worth is – and that is going to be important, not only to the city, but also to the purchaser and their financing agent.”

Barg said that the appraisal will cost $7,800, of which the developer would pay half, and should be completed by mid-March.

It’s been nearly a year since the initial plans for the building fell through, when Gorman and Company of Milwaukee pulled the plug on its proposal to renovate the former Marshfield Clinic and Figi’s headquarters into downtown apartments. Gorman nixed its apartment proposal because the company was unable to acquire historic state tax credits to make the project affordable for them. Gorman’s plan called for 40 apartments, while still maintaining the retail space on the first floor.