Downtown developer pulls offer to sell gravel lot to city for $1
Apr. 3—MITCHELL — The Mitchell City Council changed its mind about an empty parking lot downtown, and now the owner of that parking lot has, too.
Downtown developer John Adamo has withdrawn his offer to sell the empty gravel lot at the corner of Third Avenue and Main Street to the city of Mitchell for $1. Adamo was willing to sell the empty lot on the condition that the city turn it into a parking lot.
Adamo confirmed with the Mitchell Republic that he sent a letter to the city to take the gravel lot off the purchasing table. The Mitchell Republic received the letter anonymously in the mail.
"Adamo did not seem happy that we didn't want to do exactly what he wanted, but that's his choice. It's his land," Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson told the Mitchell Republic.
In 2024, the city council budgeted for the empty lot to be paved in 2025. The city council, during its regular meeting on March 17, decided to table the proposed purchase in favor of developing the lot to bring more businesses downtown and to clarify intentions with Adamo. Now, the city will not have to pay to install a parking lot or the cost to maintain it.
"The city actually paid for the demolition of that building," Hanson said, referring to the building that once stood on the empty gravel lot.
In a letter dated March 20, Adamo laid out his thoughts about the city's decision not to proceed with a public parking lot.
"My interest is to have an amicable and collaborative relationship with the city," Adamo wrote.
Adamo refuted that the parking lot purchase was an effort to bail him out.
"My decision to give those lots to the city for $1 represented a significant loss for me, and a substantial benefit to the city.... Me giving land to the city for free cannot represent a "bail out" of me," Adamo wrote.
"I think there's five of us sitting around this table that's been snookered," council member Mike Bathke said during the March 17 council meeting.
Bathke questioned if Adamo fulfilled his developer's agreement in regard to constructing a new building on the empty lot.
Adamo sought to set the record straight on his obligations regarding the empty lot.
"My commitment was to rehabilitate the Western Building, and I have fully satisfied that obligation. It has been restored at private expense [mine] and is now a credit to the Mitchell community. The money spent rehabilitating that historic building was spent in the Mitchell community, as will be the money generated by that building in the future," Adamo wrote.
Adamo's Kitchen, coming soon, is across the street from the empty lot on the ground level of the Western building, which Adamo also owns.
The South Dakota Historical Preservation Office and the U.S. National Park Service has recognized the quality of the work performed, according to Adamo.
The terms of the paperwork that transferred the lot ownership to Adamo frees him from any obligation to build a structure there, according to Adamo.
Adamo wanted to "fill in the gaps and misinformation with the facts."
"I wish I could spend more time in Mitchell. It is a city full of vibrant and innovative people. I am very proud to be part of Mitchell, and it has been, and continues to be, a wonderful experience for me to participate in improving things in the community," Adamo wrote.
Adamo called city staff a "real pleasure" and "model of efficiency" compared to the bureaucracy from California, where he is from.
A contributing factor to the council's decision to not add a parking lot is that there are 16 parking lots in the Main Street area with about 1,100 parking spaces.
"I hoped to put some new businesses there cause that's what we need, but that's not what he wants," Hanson said.
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