City Weighs Selling or Leasing Main Street by Charles City Chicken Plant

City officials are still weighing selling versus leasing North Main Street in front of the chicken processing plant in Charles City.

The one block section of Main east of Pure Prairie Farms (PPF) was recently vacated, preventing access to the street by regular traffic. The move will allow for possible plant expansion while getting transport trucks into and out of the facility more efficiently.

City Administrator Steve Diers says the original plan was to lease the street to PPF, but recent talks have also considered selling the street.

Diers adds that they’re also looking at what’s most practical long term. 

Diers says they’re still evaluating what the financial numbers would be for selling or leasing, but either way, the City will retain easements from PPF for needed infrastructure repairs to water mains and utilities.

Diers also notes that PPF officials say they are targeting mid-October to restart operations that ended in August of 2019 when former owner, Simply Essentials, closed its doors, putting over 400 people out of work.