Bids are open for the sale of 2 Bradbury St., 34 St. Marys St., 14 Piersons Lane, 106 Hill St. and 32 Maple St.
City Manager Jim Bennett said the city acquired the properties through tax liens.
“A couple (City) Council meetings ago, the head of the council authorized us to move forward on serving notice on all the people who had mutual tax liens on their property but were not single-family homes,” Bennett said.
The city acquired about a dozen properties as a result of those liens, although some were not made available for bidding because of stormwater issues.
Bennett said the city has no development plans of its own for any of the properties, which is why they are being put up for sale.
“When all was said and done, there were about five to six properties that we identified as having no real strategic importance to the city to own, so we’re just putting them up to see if somebody wants to buy them,” Bennett said. “This land is not something available for grand development. I don’t think we have any vision or dream
(for them). We basically put it up for sale.”
The properties have potential development opportunities for single- and multi-family homes, with assessed values ranging between $30,300 and $76,000, according to documents sent by Code Enforcement Officer Roby Fecteau.
One property in particular, 32 Maple St., which is located on Springs Island, has limited opportunities for development because of shoreland zoning regulations, Fecteau said.
“That’s not really a clearcut one. There could potentially be some options there,” Fecteau said.
Bids are open until Sept. 1. All proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope to the office of the finance director in City Hall, and will be read publicly once the bidding period concludes.
Bidders must explain what they plan to do with the properties to have their requests considered. The City Council has the right to accept or reject any and all proposals.
Bennett said the city is still working with people regarding tax lien issues on their properties, which are mostly residential, and that he has no idea what kind of development will take place on the vacant lots.
“I don’t think it gets any more complicated than that,” Bennett said.
— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].
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