Its windows are broken and its walls are home to pigeons and stray cats, but Baden Hall, a relic of the former St. John’s College, finally has a chance at a new life, Winfield city commissioners learned Monday night.
“In the continuing saga” of Baden Hall renovations, said city manager Warren Porter, “we appear to have a verbal agreement between the developer and the city.”
Porter said a written developer’s agreement could be ready for review as soon as the commission’s first meeting in June. He would not disclose the name of the interested party but said they were from Kansas.
Although it’s one of the more recognizable buildings, Baden Hall is basically the last building on the former campus to be renovated. A preservation society was formed to raise money to ensure the building was not razed.
The city purchased the campus and its buildings from the defunct college in 1988 and renamed the area Baden Square.
Since that purchase, the city has sold or developed the various buildings. One building is now the city library, another is the town recreation center and others have been developed privately as apartments.
Before dismissing into closed session Monday, city commissioners discussed setting a special meeting next month to walk through Baden Hall with the developer. A meeting would allow commissioners to speak directly with the developer and hear ideas for the building.
Gary Mangus, assistant to the city manager, said the developer has not yet been announced. But the intention, he said, was to convert Baden Hall into housing units.
During discussion of the tentative plans, Porter suggested commissioners tread cautiously when making decisions about Baden Hall.
“It’s an important enough program and project that the city needs to feel comfortable” with the developer, Porter said. “I think we all want Baden Hall developed, but what happens there affects all of us. In the long run it’s better to let (Baden Hall) sit there than have the wrong developer.”
During their regular meeting at city hall, commissioners voted unanimously to extend current land use regulations for Baden Hall, which is located on a grass- and tree-lined quadrant of land at College and Eighth. The Winfield Public Library, another building previously a part of St. John’s College, sits adjacent to Baden Hall.
Adopting the regulations allows the city to continue working with the prospective developer without the need for updating zoning measures, said Porter.
