The Greenburgh Town Board recently postponed a Dec. 3 auction on the 7-acre property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road formerly known as Frank”™s Nursery.
The empty lot, which is currently zoned for residential developments, can also be used for an assisted living facility or a sports training facility, opening up new possibilities for more bidders to join the original two: Game On 365 L.L.C. and House of Sports.
Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said the auction could be delayed until mid February or early March to allow more developers to do their due diligence. The minimum bid on the property is $3.5 million with the entire payment due at the closing date. No final decision has been reached about what kind of auction will be held.
“It might be a sealed bid or another public auction with buyers having the opportunity to offer higher bids after lower bids were offered,” Feiner said.
When the town acquired Frank”™s Nursery in a 2011 tax foreclosure, it received an offer from Game On, which proposed buying it for $1.7 million up front and promising to pay another $1.3 million over 13 years. The town officials initially agreed to the deal, but critics questioned why the town didn”™t accept an offer from Ardsley-based House of Sports, which offered $3.5 million in cash to purchase the property. So the town changed its mind and offered the property to House of Sports. By then both parties had threatened to sue the town if it sold the land to the rival developer. After a work session in June, the town officials decided to set up an open bidding process with a standard request for proposals.
“Since we announced the bidding process, two additional parties have stepped forward,” said Feiner. “Both expressed interest in paying the town more than $3.5 million for the property. Because there is serious interest in purchasing the property from at least four parties we decided to delay the auction to early 2014.”
Despite the added competition, House of Sports and Game On have maintained interest in the extended bidding process.
