Tranzon Auction Properties - Real Estate Auction Blog

BELFAST (May 15): The owners of the Stinson Seafood property on the Belfast waterfront have announced a June 24 auction of the entire parcel.

The sale will be handled by Tranzon, the international auctioneers with an office in Portland. Spokesman Mike Carey said Thursday, May 15 that the sale will be subject to owner confirmation and is not a foreclosure or bankruptcy procedure.

The shiny new Footbridge stands in sharp contrast to the skeletal Wakeag Landing project to its south. (File Photo)

The firm plans to advertise regionally and nationally in both print and Internet outlets, he said.

Carey said Belfast Bridge LLC, the owners who planned to turn the former sardine plant into a multi-use complex called Wakeag Landing, have considered an auction of the property throughout the marketing campaign. “They feel they have taken the project as far as they can” Carey said, “and they want to pass it on to someone who will take it into the end zone.”

Though the real estate market is depressed nationally, “There’s a lot of excitement about Belfast,” Carey said. “You’re a small, quirky, funky town and you’re now reinventing yourself again. Now is the time to sell because now is the time to buy.”

The property was listed for $1.5 million before it was purchased by developer Tom Roberts and partners in 2004 and was last listed by a real estate agency for $3.1 million, Carey said.

The owners have not established a minimum price for the auction, he said.

The City Council last month extended the contract rezoning agreement that Roberts reached with the city in 2006 so it would be available to new owners. The agreement calls for construction of condominiums, retail spaces, a marina and boat-repair facility and a dock for local commercial fishermen.

City officials have reported continuing interest in the property by buyers.

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The white church constructed in 1839 is directly behind the brick William J. Crosby School, which is NTWH’s Maine headquarters. (Photo by Jay Davis)

It was purchased by NTWH with an intended use as a center for fine arts training, though that program never materialized. John Spalla, director of NTWH, said this week from New York that the building has been “underutilized” in recent years.

“We are definitely trying to hold on to our delightful center in Belfast,” Spalla said, “and we’ll do whatever we need to,” including getting rid of some properties.

Spalla said NTWH is “still raising money” for this summer’s performance classes in Belfast and said it’s “50-50” whether the season will be held.

The former Crosby School on Church Street that is NTWH’s Maine headquarters will definitely be used in September for a writing program for Iraq veterans and in October for bakery training. NTWH sells baked goods through its Web site to help pay for its programs.

Spalla said Brother Rick Curry, founder of NTWH, is on sabbatical this year studying for the priesthood at Washington Theological Union and expects to be ordained a Jesuit priest by the end of the year. Curry has been a Jesuit brother for decades.

Tom Saturley of Tranzon Auction Properties said the church is being sold as part of a foreclosure by Camden National Bank.

A replica of the church’s Gabriel weathervane glistens Tuesday in the sun. The original was sold in 1980 by Emmanuel Baptist Church to a Portland antiques dealer. (Photo by Jay Davis)

The 5,900-square-foot building will be offered at 2:30 p.m. May 7, with inspection dates of April 17 and 24.

In March 2005, Saturley auctioned off two Main Street storefronts during a foreclosure auction involving NTWH. The buildings were purchased for $700,000 by Ed and Judy Hemmingsen, who plan to convert them to a boutique hotel.

NTWH also sold a home on Miller Street and retains a home on Bridge Street that is used by Brother Curry when he is in the city.

The New York-based nonprofit arrived in 1995 in Belfast, after purchasing the William G. Crosby School for $200,000. The group spent a reported $2 million renovating the former high school, turning it into a center for classes in the performing arts for students with handicaps.

The annual showcase of student work has been a popular attraction. The Crosby auditorium has also been used occasionally for other productions, including the 15-Minute Festival.

The auction scheduled in Lenox Massachusetts for two condos, one retail, one residential located at 30 Church St will be postponed/canceled until further notice. The auction was scheduled for 12Noon on April 17th on-site.

A bankruptcy when speaking in terms of a foreclosure auction is kind of like a “time out”. It is a stay of execution of the Power of Sale. Debtors have the right to file for bankruptcy protection under federal law, and that is what happened in this case.

What happens next is that there will be a court date or a series of court dates scheduled where there will be an attempt to sort out the debt. The mortgagee will likely ask for relief from stay, in other words they will ask the court to allow them to proceed with the foreclosure sale.

The length of this process will depend on what is going on in the courts and how complicated the debtors finances or debts are. In a recent single asset filing in a similar situation we waited almost a year to the day to complete the sale.