The town of Greenburgh has chosen a firm to oversee the auction of the former Frank”™s Nursery, a 7-acre vacant property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road long tangled in controversy.
GA Keen Realty Advisors L.L.C. will net as much as 5 percent of the gross proceeds of the sale of the property as auctioneer if the town approves the firm”™s contract. Zoning in the area allows for uses including residential homes and assisted living facilities, town officials said.
Harold Bordwin, managing director of the company, is scheduled to attend Wednesday night”™s meeting of Greenburgh”™s Town Board to discuss the deal. Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, a Democrat, said he expected the deal with GA Keen to be voted on this June and for the auction to take place this fall. He said the town chose the firm after interviewing several commercial realtors and auctioneers.
The auction of the parcel comes after a heated local debate over who should buy the property. Greenburgh switched course to auction the property amid criticisms from members of the community and threats of lawsuits from potential buyers to whom town officials had nearly sold the property. Both 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 L.L.C., which proposed to buy it for $1.7 million with the promise of paying another $1.3 million over 13 years. Town officials announced they had agreed to that deal at a press conference in May 2013.
That deal drew opposition, with critics saying the phrasing of the deal didn”™t properly ensure payment of the $1.3 million. Some residents said the town should have accepted an offer from Ardsley-based House of Sports, which had jumped in with a $3.5 million cash offer to the property “as is.”
A month after announcing the deal with Game On, town officials offered the property to House of Sports instead. Both companies threatened lawsuits if Greenburgh contracted with the other, leading to the town putting off the sale.
Game On project manager Martin Hewitt said in a recent interview that an open bidding process is the fairest option. “It”™s the cleanest way that the town can avoid a lawsuit,” he said.
Feiner said he expected the starting bid for the property would be $3.5 million.
