Greenburgh Sets November Auction for Frank’s Nursery
By Jon Craig
The Greenburgh Town Board voted last week to auction off seven acres of property at the former Frank’s Nursery at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road on or about November 13.
The property was seized by the town for unpaid taxes three years ago.
“We will start publicizing the auction immediately,” said Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner.
Feiner said that auctioneer Harold Bordwin suggested that the Town Board hold the auction in November rather than October to provide GA Keen Realty Advisors more time to effectively market the property.
The approved bid deadline is November 5, and the anticipated date for the Town to pass a resolution approving the sale is November 19.
Bordwin, the auctioneer the town has retained to oversee the auction, spoke at last Tuesday’s work session about the auction process. The link to the discussion with the Town Board appears here on the Internet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdchFIzLygA.
GA Keen Realty, the real estate division of Great American Group Inc. based in Woodland Hills, California, will net up to 5 percent of the gross sales proceeds. Zoning in the area currently allows for construction of residential homes and assisted living facilities. Feiner said existing zoning would prohibit the site from continued use as a nursery.
The auction of the parcel follows prolonged debate over who should buy the property. Greenburgh moved to auction the property after criticism from town residents and the threat of lawsuits by potential buyers, including Game On 360 and House of Sports of Ardsley. Those possible buyers wanted to convert the property into a sports facility.
The town acquired the land in a 2011 tax foreclosure and received an offer from Game On 365, which proposed to buy it for $1.7 million with the promise of paying another $1.3 million over 13 years. At a press conference 13 months ago, Greenburgh officials announced they had agreed to that deal, spurring some angry taxpayers to cry foul. Critics insisted the fine print of the proposed agreement with Game On didn’t ensure payment of the $1.3 million balance. Others said the town should have considered a heftier $3.5 million cash offer from House of Sports, which proposed buying the property “as is.”
In June 2013, after announcing the deal with Game On, town officials offered the property to House of Sports. Both companies threatened lawsuits if Greenburgh contracted with the other, prompting the town to delay the property’s sale.
Game On project manager Martin Hewitt has said that an open bidding process is the fairest option.
Feiner said he hopes the opening bid for the property will be $3.5 million. Feiner has said there are “a whole bunch of assisted living centers interested in the property.”
Beal Bank, the Las Vegas financial institution that financed the loan on the property has agreed to relinquish its rights to repayment. In 2012, Greenburgh held a town-wide referendum that drew support for a 15-year lease with a sports recreation complex and sports dome planned by Tarrytown’s Game On 365. The lease was not signed since county law required the foreclosed property be sold first. Meanwhile, test wells have detected toxins seeping into the groundwater as the nursery’s former structures continue to degrade.
Game On 365 has since proposed building a golf range adjacent to the Frank’s Nursery property. A zone change would be needed to allow the sports dome. For information about Frank’s nursery auction, call 646-381-9222.
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