WORTHINGTON -- The Worthington City Council took the first step Tuesday toward a potential sale of land to PBK Investments Inc., which hopes to build a new movie theater complex on the property.
Council members reviewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the city and PBK -- the one-time owner of the former Northland Mall property -- which identified the responsibilities of each party in the sale. The council agreed to set a value of $77,924 for the 1.1-acre site located within the Worthington Bio Science Industrial Park addition.
Worthington City Administrator Steve Robinson said PBK has 90 days to meet the requirements set by the city. Those include submitting construction plans -- such as the dimensions, number of theaters, seating capacity and types of construction, among other regulations. The city will continue with the sale only if PBK follows the agreement.
Robinson said the only concern with the project is the size of the land.
“This is only an issue because it is a very small parcel for a movie theater,” Robinson said. “They have to have the building and all of the parking in that area.”
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By agreeing to the MOU, PBK is assuring the price of the land and that the city cannot sell the land to any other entity.
In a separate matter, council members approved a request to extend the closure time of several streets on Sept. 11. The request was submitted by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union for a Latino parade celebration.
In a previous meeting, the council approved the closure of a two-block area of 10th Street between Second and Fourth avenues, including the Third Avenue intersection, from noon to 1:45 p.m. It will now be until 4:45 p.m., allowing for more activities on the street including a live band and food vendors.
