Properties near Glenville Lowe’s fail to sell at auction

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Goot

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Two prime Freemans Bridge Road properties failed to sell at auction earlier this month.

Collar City Auctions was seeking a new owner for an 8,000-square-foot building at 99 Freemans Bridge Road consisting of a warehouse building and an apartment, and a two-family house at 101 Freemans Bridge Road.

Current owner Tomhannock LLC had foreclosed on the former owner and believed that the Aug. 7 auction would be the most effective way of getting the best price for the parcels, which are right near Lowe’s.

But the owner didn’t get the minimum price sought, according to Glenville Supervisor Chris Koetzle.

“It ended without a sale,” he said.

Koetzle was not at the auction and did not know how high the bidding reached.

Randy Passono, the auctioneer with Collar City Auctions who was handling the transaction, did not return messages left for comment. He said previously there was no minimum price for the auction but the owner would accept or reject the high bid.

Town Planner Mike Burns said he would like to see the properties redeveloped with commercial or retail use. It is considered a prime site with good access to Lowe’s Drive, the roadway leading to the big box hardware store.

Anyone seeking to redevelop the site will have to be aware of potential environmental issues. However, Burns said he believes an agreement has been worked out with the state Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation on how to handle construction at the site.

The land was formerly home to an industrial supply business and some apartments. Testing at the site had found elevated levels of three chemicals used in industrial solvents — tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene and dichloroethene — which date back to when the property at nearby 107 Freemans Bridge Road housed the former Kenco Chemical. That business, which distributed bulk chemicals for dry cleaners, closed in the late 1990s.