St. Thomas has entered into a purchase agreement for the sale of the Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna, Minnesota with Meridian Behavioral Health LLC.

Meridian is a Minnesota company that provides addiction treatment services. The company will use the conference center as a living facility that will provide treatment and counseling to people with addictive diseases or behavioral disorders, Doug Hennes, vice president of university and government relations, said.

“We think they’ll be a good presence there,” he said. “They provide valuable services to the community.”

The purchase agreement does not mean that the sale is final, Hennes said. Meridian has a 45-day period to make a final decision on whether or not it wants to buy the property.

“We’re anticipating that we’ll sell,” Hennes said.

The agreement with Meridian was made before the university started the formal marketing process of the property, which was supposed to begin in May. Meridian approached the university after the St. Thomas Board of Trustees voted to sell the property in February. The purchase price of the property will not be disclosed.

“They made a very fair offer, and so we accepted it,” Hennes said.

The agreement includes all the land and buildings of the property except for the architect Frank Gehry’s Winton House, Hennes said. St. Thomas will retain ownership of the house and can keep it on the property for up to two years before it has to be moved. Hennes said no decision has been made about what to do with the house.

City of Owatonna Community Development Director Troy Klecker said the city is happy the center was sold quickly and will not sit vacant. He does not expect the new ownership to have a big effect on the city.

“Although it won’t be a conference center, it will function much the same,” Klecker said. “People will be coming in, staying there, and although they’ll be treated for different things, it will probably function from outside grounds much the same as it is now.”

Meridian has other facilities throughout the state, and Klecker said the new facility will fit with the Owatonna community as well as similar centers have in other cities.

“It’s a very well respected company,” he said. “We think it’s going to be an asset to the community.”

Rebecca Mariscal can be reached at mari2162@stthomas.edu.