Deja Vu All Over Again

A year ago, on June 1, 2013, 405 Warren Street was sold at auction. The winning bid was $354,000, made on behalf of Galvan Partners. Galvan ended up walking away from the deal, because the owner of the building was still appealing court decisions that gave the City title to the property. With all appeals exhausted and title clear, 405 Warren Street went on the block again today at noon, along with 518 Washington Street. It was standing room only in at City Hall for the event.

The minimum bid for 405 Warren Street the second time around was almost as much as the winning bid had been last year: $320,167.81. Mark Greenberg, attorney for Galvan, opened the bidding at $150,000. His bid was not accepted. He then bid the minimum, which was immediately up to $321,000. For the next twenty minutes, Greenberg and Colin Stair bid against each other, upping the bid by $1,000 almost every time. When the price got up to $391,000, Stair said, as an aside, "That's not his money." When the price finally reached $450,000, Stair bowed out. "Let him have it. Make sure this time they're going to buy it. I'm not going through this again."

Next to be auctioned was 518 Washington Street. The minimum bid for this property was $33,362.75, and there were more than just two people who bid on it. Greenberg was one of the bidders on this property as well but dropped out when the price reached $110,000. From that point on, there were just two bidders left, edging the price up by increments of $500 and $1,000. The winning bid, made by Steve Gazzola, was $127,000.

Before the bidding began, city attorney Carl Whitbeck explained the conditions being imposed on the sale of 405 Warren Street. The building must be rehabbed and receive a certificate of occupancy within eighteen months of the sale. The penalty for failing to return the building to useful life within eighteen months is 20 percent of the purchase price, a penalty that will accrue interest at the rate of 9 percent.
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