George's Ballroom sells for $1,000

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- George's Ballroom was sold within minutes of going on the Brown County auction block Wednesday morning.

Brown County commissioners voted to put the aging landmark up for public sale after a joint effort between the county and the city of New Ulm failed to find a developer.

The ballroom was seized by the county in lieu of $89,000 in overdue taxes one year ago from the daughter of its founder and original owner, George Neuwirth.

It took a whole half-hour for Brown County to close the deal with Randy Danielson of Arlington who bought the 57-year old ballroom, bowling alley and bar for $1,000.

"This has to be huge for the county," said assistant auditor-treasurer Jean Prochniak. "If they had to maintain it or do anything to it, it would've meant huge dollars."

The sale means city and county governments are finished dealing with the property.

Prochniak said she thinks Danielson, has bought a grain elevator in St. Claire for $1.

The ballroom was sold as-is, just like any other tax-forfeited property, Prochniak said.

The starting bid on George's Ballroom was set at $1,000 to offset the cost of advertising the property and making basic maintenance to it like mowing the lawn.

The ballroom closed in 1991, and Neuwirth died four years later. The ballroom passed to his daughter, who held the property until the county seized it a year ago. Neuwirth and his daughter had refused several offers from local and outstate developers.

Brown County hired a Mankato architectural firm to examine and asses the condition of the ballroom. That team found heavy damage from the moisture that came in through the building's leaky roof and also noted large amounts of asbestos inside. An estimate done in June determined it would cost a little under $3 million to restore George's Ballroom to its original 1945 condition and update parts of it to meet city building codes.

A reuse study team toured George's again in March to gather additional information on the ballroom's condition. The study made several recommendations that kept with the original plan for the building: a bar, restaurant, musical and theatrical performing venue, a casino, bed-and-breakfast, a reception hall and a hotel were some of the suggestions made by the panel.

The ballroom stirred some letterwriting from many local citizens who remembered having wedding dances and Saturday night parties at George's during its heyday.

City and county officials had discussed how they would pay to maintain the ballroom if it wasn't sold but did not come to a conclusion. County officials had indicated George's Ballroom would have faced a wrecking ball if it did not sell at Wednesday's auction, a possibility that could've cost the county $300,000.

"Now that the county's out of it, we're done," said Prochniak.