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City and JDA move to acquire 575–595 S. Washington amid billboard easement dispute with Newman Signs

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Summary

The Grand Forks City Council and the Forks Growth Fund JDA agreed on June 2 to advance a purchase‑agreement assignment for property at 575 and 595 South Washington Street, even as signed billboard easements held by Newman Signs constrain signage and complicate the proposed use adjacent to Fire Station 1.

The Forks Growth Fund JDA and the Grand Forks City Council on June 2 took steps to advance a purchase of property at 575 and 595 South Washington Street, while flagging unresolved easement restrictions that limit sign placement and create practical constraints for the city’s intended uses.

At a JDA meeting earlier in the evening staff summarized a purchase agreement executed in March between the city and Lander Real Estate LLC and said the seller had retained obligations to pay annual billboard easement fees to Newman Signs, Inc. Staff described three signed easements covering three separate areas; a 2025 payment is roughly $14,000, rising to about $14,600 in 2026 with a 3% escalator.

“One of the conditions for the…

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