FARGO - The downtown Fargo American Legion building is for sale and leaders of Gilbert C. Grafton Post 2 are looking for a smaller facility they can better afford.
Commander Robert Jacobson said late Tuesday after a meeting of the post's executive committee that they decided to sell the building at 505 3rd Ave. N.
Events scheduled in the club through October will still be held, Jacobson said. The facility also will be open on Veterans Day.
"That might be the last hurrah," Jacobson said.
Leaders intend to keep Post 2 going, but they first need to find a new location in Fargo and formulate the group's new image, Jacobson said.
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"We don't know for sure what's going to happen, we just know we can't afford to maintain our presence here," he said.
Members who voted in a straw poll two weeks ago voted overwhelmingly to sell the building.
The post had said it would hold a more formal vote of its membership, but Jacobson said Tuesday their attorney said the executive committee had authority in its bylaws to proceed without another vote.
The post has struggled to overcome several negative trends in recent years, including a poor economy, declining gaming revenues, lack of parking, more competition downtown and the city's smoking ban, officials have said.
The building was on the market for about 24 hours as of Tuesday evening and already received quite a bit of interest, Jacobson said.
