The auction of the former Frank”™s Nursery site in the town of Greenburgh has been postponed.
The site at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road was scheduled to be sold at auction on Nov. 13. But despite interest from more than 60 potential developers, the auction has been put off indefinitely while further environmental studies of the property are conducted.
Town Supervisor Paul Feiner in an email said that GA Keen Realty Advisors told the Town Board “the feedback that (GA Keen Realty Advisors) had received from prospective bidders included significant reservations about the environmental condition of the property. Specifically, (GA Keen) stated that many prospective bidders indicated that they would not bid or that they would bid a nominal amount in order to account for the unquantifiable environmental remediation costs at the site.”
Reached by phone, Feiner told the Business Journal that the town is moving forward with further environmental study of the site.
“We want to do the study really quickly,” Feiner said. “My call would be to do the auction in January or sooner because there”™s real interest in the property.”
Feiner said the town would also consider rezoning the property for other uses with the hope that doing so would attract more bidders.
A study commissioned by Greenburgh and conducted by Harrison-based Woodard & Curran Engineering estimated environmental cleanup of the site would cost millions due to a 2001 oil spill. According to the report, 500 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil seeped into the ground and there have been no further cleanup efforts since former owner S&D Realty Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001. Woodward & Curran”™s study didn”™t give an estimate of the cost to remediate the damage.
The town acquired the land in a 2011 tax foreclosure and received an offer from Game On 365 LLC, which offered $1.7 million for the land and promised an additional $1.3 million over 13 years. Town officials announced they had agreed to that deal at a press conference in May 2013.
But the deal drew opposition, with critics saying the phrasing of the deal didn”™t properly ensure the $1.3 million would be paid. Some residents said the town should have accepted a competing offer from Ardsley-based House of Sports, which had jumped in with a $3.5 million cash offer for the property “as is.”
A month after announcing the deal with Game On, the town 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. Both companies wanted to build a sports facility.
Game On project manager Martin Hewitt said at the time 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 that there is no minimum sale price that town is looking for, and added, “It”™s better to let the market decide.”
