NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 8, 2017
CONTACT:
Darren Jablonsky, Deputy Planning and Community Development Director
218-725-5011 (for questions on tax forfeit land sale)
Jason Meyer, Deputy Land and Minerals Director
218-726-2606 (for questions about Lakeshore Lease Program)
Tax forfeited land auction results: 25 properties sold for $360,500
The St. Louis County property tax base grew by 25 parcels following today's successful auction of tax forfeited properties. The auction is the second of three that the County offers each year as a way to return tax forfeited properties to private ownership and spur economic development.
A total of 70 properties had been offered for bid. Those not sold are now available for purchase on a first come, first served basis through the St. Louis County Land and Minerals Department.
"When 35 percent of the properties offered are purchased, and a number of them for more than the assessed value, that's a successful auction," said Darren Jablonsky, Deputy director of Planning and Community. "We think it indicates several things: the economy is improving, the assessed values, which serve as the starting bid, are fair, and we're doing a better job of letting people know about the properties for sale."
Among the properties purchased are two homes in Duluth and one in Chisholm, several empty lots in Tower, Floodwood, Chisholm and Hibbing, and four lots on the bay side of Park Point. The most valuable property sold was a five acre parcel in the City of Rice Lake, originally valued at $32,100, which sold following a bidding war for $52,500.
The County will offer one additional tax forfeited land auction on October 12 at the Miners Memorial Building in Virginia.
There are nearly 900,000 acres of tax forfeited land within St. Louis County, which the county's
Land and Minerals Department is responsible for managing. Most of the land is retained for
forest management, however the County has been trying to sell smaller parcels located within
cities and townships as a way to encourage development and increase the property tax base.
For more information about tax forfeited land sales, subscribe to receive email notifications
about updates and future sales, or view a list of properties that can be purchased at any
time, visit stlouiscountymn.gov/landsales, or call the Land and Minerals Department at (218)
726-2606.
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