On the auction block:
Five surplus city properties to be sold at auction Saturday
By Jeffrey Morse

              
Parcel 1 - Transportation and storage                      Parcel 2 - The Norwich Elks Club on
building on Borden Avenue                                          East Main Street.

     
Parcel 3 - Former elementary school on         Parcel 4 - A former firehouse on
corner of East Main and Park streets.                            Sheldon Street.

Parcel 5 - A vacant industrial lot on State Street.

            NORWICH – Five properties, including four buildings on more than 5.5 acres in the City of Norwich, will be sold at auction by the municipality Saturday.  The total assessment of the properties is $923,800.
            The auction, to be performed by Mel Manasse & Son Auctioneers of Whitney Point, will take place at 1:30 p.m.  Saturday at the Elks Club on East Main Street.  Besides the club itself, the city will part with a former transportation storage building on Borden Avenue, a former elementary school on East Main Street, a former Shelfon Street fire Station and a vacant lot on State Street.
            “The (the auction) has been a work in progress for a couple of years now… It is a given that the city does not want to be in the real estate ownership or maintenance business,” City Finance Director William J. Roberts said.
            The city’s Common Council held a public hearing Tuesday regarding the possible usefulness of the properties to the municipaility.  No one from the public spoke.
             “They are properties we don’t have any need for, or need to use.” Roberts said.
            The first parcel in the sale is a 20,000 sq. foot Borden Avenue building with several drive-through bays.  It was constructed in 1985 by Victory Markets, was interim home to the Norwich Fire Department during the renovation of their East Main Street fire station, and is the current home of counter top manufacturer, Precision Built Tops.  The lot is just under two acres in size and is assessed at $275,000.
            The second parcel, where the sale of all properties will take place, is presently occupied by the Norwich Elks Club.  The two-story building has a banquet area, two bars, a large dining room and a bowling alley. The building is approximately 15,000 sq. feet and borders both a municipal parking lot and the Norwich City Police Department.  It is assessed at $149,400.
            The third parcel is a three-story brick, former school building on the corner of East Main and Park Streets.  The 1.38 acre lot the building sits on contains a pavilion and off-street parking.  It is assessed for $425,000.
            The fourth parcel is a one-story former firehouse on Sheldon Street.  The approximately 1,300 sq. feet within the structure is faced by a large overhead door on the front.  It is assessed for $24,400.
            The fifth parcel is a vacant 2.2 acre lot on State Street.  The lot, which was the former site of the Norwich Shoe Factory, is commercially zoned and cleared for construction.  It is bordered on one side by the Lackawanna Railroad.  It is assessed for $50,000.
            “The auctioneer has indicated that there has been very strong interst.   They have had interest in all five properties,” Roberts said.
            The finance director said money raised through direct sales Saturday, short of what is owed by the city on the properties, would go to the city’s general fund.   He said approximately $300,000 is owed on the Borden avenue property.  Due to the high value of the first three retail parcels, the winning bid will be subject to what Manasse calls “very reasonable immediate confirmation” of the sale by the city.   Both the Sheldon Street building and the State Street lot will not be subject to approval, and will absolutely become the property of the highest bidder.
            All purchasers will need to leave 10 percent of the winning bid with the icty on the day of purchase, and the balance will be due at closing 60 days later.  All property is being sold as is at the time of the sale.

[The Evening Sun – Thursday, November 17, 2005]