Buyer Selected For Platteville Armory

The Platteville Common Council on Tuesday night unanimously selected a group of local investors to take ownership of the Platteville Armory. The winning proposal came from a group of area residents who plan to form an LLC to operate the facility. Chris and Allison Richard, of Platteville; Josh and Hollie Kuepers, of Dickeyville; and Jason Francois, of Dubuque, put in a combined $201,000 offer for the Armory and three adjacent lots owned by the city. The group said in their submission that they hope to make the Armory a community-based building that serves multiple needs for the citizens of Platteville and surrounding area. Planned uses for the space include leased storage space for area businesses, event and kitchen space rentals and potential use as a child care facility for the Head Start program. Another offer came from Brian Fritz, owner of Pioneer Property Management in Platteville for $195,000. The selected group will pay the city, which then will pay the Department of Military Affairs $135,000 while allocating the additional funds to a yet-to-be determined use.  A few final steps need to be taken before the sale can close by January 31st.