Geary County is having trouble unloading housing lots that were partially developed in expectation of a population boom from the return of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division to Fort Riley.

Developers abandoned the lots when the boom failed to materialize, and hundreds of sites are now in tax delinquency.

The Daily Union in Junction City reports a recent tax sale of 280 lots ended with just 24 sold, for a total of about $2,300.

Some lots already have streets, water and other infrastructure. But many potential buyers were put off by special assessments of up to $2,000 a year on each parcel for 15 years.

For now, the county remains in the realty business, when what officials really want is to get the properties back on the tax rolls.
—