[VIDEO] St. Joseph Commissioners Seek Purchase of Lighthouse Duplex

lighthouse-duplex

Prime real estate owned by the U.S. Coast Guard along the St. Joseph River is about to go on the market, and the city of St. Joseph wants it.

It’s a duplex built in 1907 that was the lighthouse keepers’ dwelling for decades, but has gone unused for the past several years. The federal government is seeking to dispose of it under the Coast Guard Housing Authority Act, selling it for fair market value and putting the proceeds into new military housing. St. Joseph City Manager John Hodgson is sending a letter to the Coast Guard, informing them of the city’s desire to pursue a direct sale of the parcel.

“It’d sure be great if there was a way for the Coast Guard to change its mind and go with the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, and transfer the property for free rather than for fair market value, but that’s a little above our pay grade,” Hodgson told us.

Hodgson says fair market value could be as high as a half-million dollars based on other nearby properties, but adds those were ready for occupancy and didn’t need things like asbestos removal. As for what it could become, he says the city can envision using part of it as a welcome center for the lighthouses while restoring the other half as an exhibit of what the lighthouse keepers’ quarters used to look like.