AMI Building May Go to Feds

BOCA RATON, FL-American Media Inc.’s 65,000-sf, anthrax-contaminated building at 5401 NW Broken Sound Parkway in the Arvida Park of Commerce may become the property of the government, if local authorities have a say in the matter. In its weekly meeting yesterday, the Boca Raton City Council gave the go-ahead for Mayor Steven Abrams to request the help of five area congressmen and senators in convincing the government to takeover ownership and cleanup responsibilities of the building.

The structure has sat vacant since AMI workers relocated following the death of an employee from contact with anthrax spores last October. AMI is currently leasing alternative space in Delray Beach. While the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry would like to use the five-acre property for research purposes, AMI seeks to turnover the building to the government in return for its cleanup of the contaminated facility. The building has a 2001 assessed value of nearly $4.7 million.