An $11 million offer that would have allowed River Grove elementary school to remain at Wilder Forest in northern Washington County appears to have come too late.
The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation board of directors on Tuesday approved an agreement with the Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership to purchase the 600 acres of land. Both parties signed the agreement “after several weeks of negotiating final terms,” said Andrew Brown, a spokesman for Wilder. Details of the purchase agreement were not disclosed; the sale price will remain confidential until closing, he said.
The purchase agreement with the Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership was approved just days after a White Bear Lake-based foundation submitted an $11 million purchase agreement to Wilder officials. The terms offered by Manitou Fund included five days closing and an immediate extension of lease agreements with River Grove, known officially as Marine Area Community School, and Big River Farms, a land-based education program for immigrant and refugee organic farmers and farmers of color, run by The Food Group.
The Manitou Fund owns the adjacent former Warner Nature Center land, which also is in May Township.
WILDER TO CONTINUE PLAN WITH MINNESOTA CATHOLIC YOUTH PARTNERSHIP
The sale of the land to the youth partnership means River Grove charter school will have to move from the site. Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership officials plan to open an overnight summer camp and winter retreat center on the site, hosting up to 200 middle-school campers a week during the summer.
“Should our efforts with Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership not result in a successful closing, we would be open to discussions with Manitou Fund and others who may be interested in purchasing the property,” Wilder Board Chairwoman Judy Kishel wrote in a letter to school officials sent Monday.
River Grove school director Drew Goodson said in an email on Tuesday that news of the offer from the Manitou Fund not being accepted is “incredibly disappointing.”
“It seems as though the Manitou Fund was not negotiated with in good faith nor given a chance to submit a final offer,” Goodson said.
When asked for comment on news of the Manitou Fund offer, Kishel issued this statement Tuesday:
“Our board of directors recognizes the difficulty this decision presents to students and families,” she wrote. “We approved the purchase agreement with Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership after careful consideration of all factors, including the impact to the River Grove community as well as our obligations as the leaders of a nonprofit community organization.”
MANITOU FUND TRUSTEE: OFFER WAS WILDER’S ASKING PRICE
Manitou Fund Trustee Greg McNeely said Tuesday that the $11 million offer for the land was the Wilder Foundation’s asking price.
The Manitou Fund was created by McNeely’s father, Minnesota business magnate Donald McNeely, who died in 2009 at age 94. Donald McNeely also created the Lee and Rose Warner Nature Center in 1964 to honor his aunt and uncle and promote environmental education. Donald McNeely, who lived on Manitou Island in White Bear Lake, created the Manitou Fund to finance many of his family’s charitable interests. In 2009, the Lee and Rose Warner Foundation, another foundation started by McNeely, was merged into the Manitou Fund.
Wilder officials said that they expect their deal with Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership to close in nine to 12 months.
The lease for River Grove, which has been located at Wilder Forest since it opened in 2017, expires at the end of June. The K-6 school has 225 students and is housed in several cottages that used to be leased by Concordia Language Villages.