Mar. 21--The owner of what's been called Madison's ugliest building walked out of a city Plan Commission meeting in January, and local officials haven't heard from him since.

Still, they are hopeful new office buildings, small businesses, stores and homes will someday pop up on the 27-acre site where a defunct fertilizer plant now stands near the interchange of Highway 51 and Cottage Grove Road.

The fading yellow metal-sheathed monster is distinguished by a five-story central tower, twin 10,000-ton storage domes, criss-crossing aerial conveyor belts and a sprawling main structure covering a chemical mixing pit that runs 16-feet deep, 100-feet wide and the length of a football field.

The stakes are high: The property is one of the biggest remaining developable areas in Madison. A marketing study said it clouds the future of the busy residential and commercial corridor a few blocks from Lake Monona. Neighbors hate it.

Planners were discussing what to do with it even before it was closed and acquired in 2006 by Agrium Inc. But little can happen until the existing steel buildings are removed, along with the tons of concrete and contaminated soil beneath them.

Agrium wants to sell the old Royster-Clark Co. land and be done with it. But several developers have come and gone. And the hulking buildings continue to deteriorate.

Assessing blame

So who's to blame for the eyesore that just won't quit?

Ald. Larry Palm, District 15, points his finger at the owner.

"Agrium is trying to get everything. They're trying to get a high price, no liabilities -- their negotiation is they want this property to be a revenue enhancement for them. And they are doing that at our cost," he said.

Agrium asset recovery manager Daren Couture said he, too, is disappointed a redeveloper hasn't yet been found.

"Our intentions with our buyers have always been honorable," Couture said. "We had a buyer, but we just couldn't close it because of some factors that were outside of our control."

The Calgary, Alberta-based company, North America's biggest fertilizer seller, blames Madison's extensive review process for big projects.

"That was the No. 1 constraint identified by the buyers we talked with. No. 2, obviously, was the structures," Couture said. Couture wouldn't provide details, but Palm said he's heard the demolition cost estimated at $250,000 to $750,000.

Madison officials maintain developers understand there will be close scrutiny of permit applications for projects that affect city services and residents.