Coralville agrees to buy land in unincorporated area

CORALVILLE – The Coralville City Council Tuesday night agreed to buy 46 acres of land north of town for future development.

The city will pay $3.5 million for the properties, west of North Liberty Road, owned by Diana Pratt and Moon Dance LLC. They include a million-dollar home and other outbuildings.

The land is in an area that has been subject to an annexation dispute between Coralville and North Liberty. Coralville expects to be able to eventually annex the land, City Administrator Kelly Hayworth has said.

Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan said past discussions between the public and the cities have been contentious, but the proposed land purchase came as a surprise to many people when it was made public last week.

“I'm just extremely concerned that this plan seems to be developed to this extent yet no one outside of the city of Coralville seems to know anything about it,” he said, adding that he wasn't sure whether the proposal was good or bad.

Mayor Jim Fausett said advertising the city's interest in a property could drive up the price. Public bodies often discuss potential property purchases in closed sessions.

He said the city has been working with North Liberty for a year on a boundary agreement.