Kathy Cargill ignores meeting request from Duluth mayor over Park Point purchases

DULUTH — Mayor Roger Reinert is among the many wondering what Kathy Cargill plans to do with the dozen properties her limited liability company acquired on Park Point in recent months.

Reinert sent Cargill a letter a month ago asking her to meet, he said Monday in an email to Duluth city councilors. He did not receive a response, he wrote, asking councilors to sign off on a new letter he plans to send following news of more purchases.

His letter makes clear he respects her right to buy the properties through the private market, but said many who live on Park Point and beyond have questions about the intent of the purchases, particularly where homes have been torn down.

"You may also be aware that we have an acute housing crunch currently within the city of Duluth," Reinert wrote in the letter, and it limits the city's ability to grow employment, businesses and its tax base. "Any loss of residential housing is not helpful."

Reinert, who took office in January, is a former Park Point resident. He called it a special neighborhood, and requested Cargill or a representative share her vision in meetings with the point's community club and with him and other staff.

Cargill's North Shore LS LLC, has acquired a dozen properties on Park Point in the last 14 months, generating concern from residents there and those who use the 7 miles of its famous public beach. Most of the homes have been demolished. Cargill has not responded to interview requests.

Many of the properties were sold at twice their estimated value or more, some in multi-parcel sales. The LLC bought about half of the single-family houses sold on Park Point last year, with the median price of all sold homes about $477,000.

At Monday night's City Council meeting, President Roz Randorf said the loss of so many homes was "concerning."

Chief Administrative Officer David Montgomery assured councilors that every sale has been lawful, and the city will have input if rezoning or redevelopment requests are made.

"We are investigating whether there are other things the city can do on the front end," he said.

Park Point is zoned for mixed use in some areas, but it's largely residential. All of Cargill's properties lie in residential zones, according to city maps.

The purchases have triggered worry about their eventual effect on property taxes and the loss of single-family housing, along with responsible development of the fragile and historically significant sandbar, long struggling with erosion.

Cargill's husband, James Cargill II, is one of a dozen heirs to Cargill Inc., the Minnetonka-based global food and agribusiness giant and the largest privately held company in the nation.