12/15/12 - The City of Linden has cancelled its planned purchase of the Union Block property following an environmental study. The historic block in the cityâs downtown was built in 1870 and was a major part of the downtown district until it was destroyed by fire in 2007. The 1.06-acre property was purchased the following year by two local families, and the city government has been in talks to purchase the property for the past four months, and the initial agreement included a price tag of $240,000. The city paid $2,000 in deposits and $2,150 for a phase one environmental study. A second environmental study, paid for by one of the families that own the property, identified the presence of petroleum related contaminants in the soil and groundwater of a portion of the property that exceeded Michigan Department of Environmental Quality standards. The city could have been hit with unforeseen costs if the deal had gone through. (TD)
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