Longmeadow Sells Property at Public Auction

The Town of Longmeadow, Massachusetts successfully sold the property at 386 Bliss Road at a public auction tonight. There were about 45-50 interested people in attendance with 10 registered bidders. The auction started slowly with an initial bid of $1000 but quickly moved to a much higher price before the serious bids emerged. The winning bid was then entered by Michael Albano, the former Mayor of Springfield at $137,000.

It is expected that the closing on the property will occur by September 14. It certainly appears that the town will recover all of its owed costs (+ extra) and will have transitioned this property out of deliquency and back onto the tax rolls. Congratulations to Mary Pequignot and others who played a role in making this a successful auction. A large portion of the $137,000 will likely be placed in the Longmeadow General Fund for FY2010 budget uses.

Below is a brief video that captures the essence of what happened.... if you have never been to a public auction it is worth viewing....

Possible zoning problem with demolition of 386 Bliss Road

The 386 Bliss Road property is zoned RA-1.

From Article VI- section A of the Longmeadow Zoning Bylaws.

In the Residence A-l Zone no dwelling shall be erected or maintained on a lot having a frontage of less than 125 feet for an interior lot and 140 feet for a corner lot or having an area of less than 18,750 square feet.

Questions

Because the frontage of this lot on Bliss Road is only 71.0 ft (less than the minimum of 140 ft required for a corner lot) …. Would this property be considered non-conforming by the Longmeadow zoning bylaw cited above?

Therefore, if the original structure is demolished as suggested in my previous post as the likely scenario for a new owner…. Would a variance by the Longmeadow ZBA be required for a new structure to be erected on the site? Is it likely that it would be granted?

Here is an interesting idea that might be considered by the abutting property owner….

1. Purchase the 386 Bliss Road property and demolish the building.
2. Combine the two adjacent lots

3. Redivide the lot into two new parcels- each ~ 0.50 acre in size. Build a new dwelling on the second parcel which would appear to meet the existing zoning bylaws (see sketch below).

The second “new” lot would likely have a market value of $175-200K given the current assessment valuation of land for this section of town.

The town is hoping to recoup their $100K expenses which would be added to the General Fund.

Let’s hope that the town realizes at least that amount during next week’s auction and that this property is re-established as a contributor to Longmeadow’s property tax rolls.

386 Bliss Road, Longmeadow- Visual Inspection

Here are some inside photos from the inspection tour held at 386 Bliss Road earlier today... This property is scheduled for public auction next week. See previous post for additional details about the auction.

The above photos suggest that the condition of the house is better than it really is.... I didn't go into the basement but reports from others who did suggested that the levels of mold and mildew were very high. In addition, there was evidence of widespread wood rot. My opinion (and I am certainly not an expert in this area) is that the best thing for the both the neighborhood, the new property owner and the town is a complete demolition.

Longmeadow to Sell Property at Auction

The Town of Longmeadow will auction off property at 386 Bliss Road on Wednesday, August 12 at 7 PM. The auction will take place at the Longmeadow Community House. The last public auction of property in Longmeadow took place in November 2003.

According to Mary D. Pequignot, Longmeadow Treasurer/ Collector, the town acquired this property earlier this year through a tax title foreclosure. There is an estimated $100,000 owed to the town including delinquent property taxes, outstanding water and sewer bills and associated legal fees. The key objectives of the public auction is to recover these costs and to re-establish this property on the tax rolls.

As can be seen in the photos below the house has not been maintained for many years and is in pretty poor condition. There have been people living in the house until earlier this year when the occupant was evicted. The house has not been cleaned and will be sold on an “as is” basis.



The current value of this property is listed on Longmeadow's assessment records at $231,000 with the 0.50 acre of land listed at $190,000. It would appear that best outcome for Longmeadow and the surrounding neighbors would be for the winner bidder to demolish this house which is currently a significant neighborhood eyesore and to build a new one. This property is situated on a corner lot (corner of Bliss Road/ Oakland Drive) in a desirable location close to local schools (Blueberry Hill Elementary School/ Williams Middle School and Longmeadow HS) and Bliss Park.

[click above image to view active viewing window]

There will be an open house on Wednesday, August 5 from 10 am – 12 noon for interested parties. For those interested in participating in the open house or public auction please read the official press release on the Longmeadow Community Bulletin Board.

Given the current real estate market, the winner bidder for this property could get a real bargain.

I hope to be able to post videos of the open house and the public auction, so if you are interested, please bookmark this blog and plan to come back to read future posts.