Springfield is preparing to auction off around 30 properties at a City Hall event on the evening of Monday, April 14. Registration begins at 5:00 pm, and the auction is scheduled to start an hour later.

A week prior to the auction, on Sunday, April 6, the city is planning open houses and site tours from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. It’s a great opportunity to get inside buildings you may have wondered about in the past.

A number of properties with promise are planned for inclusion on the auction block, such as four residential condominium units, some single-family homes, a Taylor Street commercial building (PDF, also pictured at right), a spacious two-family colonial, and several residential-zoned land parcels.

One unit, in Museum Park apartments at 70 Chestnut Street (pictured), is directly across from the city’s quadrangle green at the Springfield Museums, including the soon-to-be-constructed Springfield Museum of Firsts (top middle in aerial photo), as well as the downtown central library.

Quincy-based Daniel J. Flynn & Co. is once again handling the ballroom-style auction, the second of its kind this calendar year. The auctioneer is also hosting the open house at the various properties. “Folks shouldn’t miss this one,” auctioneer Dan Flynn said in a prepared statement from the city. “At the last city auction, people were pleasantly surprised at how low some of the winning bids were.”

Tina-Marie Quagliato, Senior Program Manager in the city’s Office of Housing, noted that Flynn & Co.’s representation at the open house locations will give prospective buyers a good opportunity to have any questions answered, either regarding the locations themselves or the auction process.

“I think some of the properties have some really great selling points,” she added, particularly the condo units for first-time homebuyers. Quagliato provided photos of the condo interiors for anyone potentially interested, as well as some highlights of a few other properties.

“Buying tax title property through the auction process has some really great advantages,” she said. “The main advantage is that you get good property at a bargain price.” All are listed at the Flynn & Co. Web site for perusal.

The unit at 70 Chestnut Street, #608 (kitchen pictured), is in the recently-renovated Museum Park apartment building downtown. The living area for the unit is listed at 290 square feet with an assessed value of $19,900.

“The unit itself is a studio,” Quagliato said, “but as you can see, I have also have included pictures of the common areas that have been created to expand the living space. It allows for a community atmosphere to develop in the building.”

Museum Park apartments are generally geared for people 55 and older. The building is managed by WinnCompanies, which has an excellent management reputation.

It is within close walking distance of the central business district and is in a neighborhood served by the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association. AQCA meetings have, on occasion, taken place in the building’s community room, or just down the street in the lobbies of other buildings nearby on Chestnut at the Apremont Triangle.

While not yet an area brimming with vitality, it’s a place with strong investment potential in my opinion, relatively speaking, whether for commercial or residential purposes.

The Urban Land Institute had similar things to say about this specific neighborhood in its year-old advisory services panel report (PDF) on the city. (See pages 33 and 34.)

There are also two one-bedroom condo units, #5A and #5E, available in the McIntosh building (pictured), a handsome former shoe factory at 158-166 Chestnut Street.

The building is at the corner of Worthington Street in the city’s downtown entertainment district. Unit 5A was assessed at $100,900; unit 5E has a value of $86,700.

“Both are very spacious units,” Quagliato said of these, “[with] exposed wood and brick work from the original use of the building, which gives them a very cozy feeling.”

Another condo unit, #7B in a building at 116-120 Longhill Street, is adjacent to the soon-to-be-redeveloped Longhill Gardens Condominiums.

The building was constructed in 1920. Unit 7B has a living area of 980 square feet and has an assessed value of $75,300. It includes a recently remodeled bathroom and kitchen.

According to Quagliato, who was very impressed with this unit, the bathroom and kitchen and their appliances “appear to have hardly been used.”

She noted the building’s great location near the Forest Park Heights Historic District, also within close range to the park itself, downtown by bike or bus, and I-91.

“The units on Longhill Street and in the McIntosh building are really great opportunities for first time homebuyers,” Quagliato emphasized, “especially ideal for those who want to own their own home, but don’t have the time or the opportunity to worry about the maintenance owning a home requires.”

The large two-family colonial house at 120-124 Leyfred Terrace, also in Forest Park, has “the potential to be a beautiful home again,” according to Quagliato.

“The city has been trying to foreclose on the property for some time,” she added, “and we’ve finally been able to get ownership of it. We’re very optimistic that a good purchaser will step in, and put the necessary care and work into the property.”

Consisting of 3,836 square feet of living space on 11,718 square feet of land—a double lot—the home has been assessed at a value of $176,000. “It was actually constructed as a duplex,” Quagliato said, “which is sort of unique for that style of home.”

In comments following a post here last December about the closing-off of a street at Bellevue Avenue and Marengo Park not far from Leyfred Terrace, city resident Sheila McElwaine noted this particular property. “It has been empty for so long that rehab would cost more money than could be realized by resale,” she wrote. “Yes, rehab is possible (within limits to be sure), no matter how badly damaged a building may be, but without a philanthropist with very deep pockets, the numbers must work.”

McElwaine wrote further that the non-profit neighborhood group Concerned Citizens for Springfield had been putting its resources toward keeping the property boarded and free of debris in the yard. Now that the city is auctioning it off, it will be interesting to watch what happens next.

Below is the city’s March 27 press release promoting the auction. The city provides more information and necessary documentation in anticipation of the auction on its Web site.

Second Auction Planned for City of Springfield

The City of Springfield in conjunction with Daniel J. Flynn & Co. of Quincy will auction off 30 properties in tax-title possession on Monday, April 14, 2008. Registration begins at 5:00 pm and the auction begins at 6:00 pm. The Auction will be conducted ballroom-style, at Springfield City Hall located at 36 Court Street, Springfield, MA 01103.

This marks Springfield’s second real estate auction in 2008. The first auction held on January 17 was well attended and widely considered a success. The auction exceeded the goal of getting at least $500,000 for the properties according to city officials.

“We’re expecting another sizable turnout,” said Acting City Treasurer/Collector Patrick Burns. “These auctions have proven to be a highly effective method of generating tax dollars for the city while, at the same time, providing a desirable service for those seeking development opportunities.”

The auction portfolio for the upcoming April 14 auction offers a variety of opportunity for investors; a commercial building on Taylor Street, a 3,836 square foot, two-family colonial, four single-family homes, four residential condominiums units and several residential zoned land parcels.

“Folks shouldn’t miss this one. At the last city auction people were pleasantly surprised at how low some of the winning bids were,” Auctioneer Dan Flynn remarked.

He added: “Municipal auctions are attractive because, unlike foreclosure auctions, there are no liens. What you bid is what you pay plus the five percent buyers’ premium.”

A five percent buyer’s premium covers the auction fee so the cost is added to each high bid which represents the final sale price. Anyone interested in participating in the auction should come prepared with a certified or bank check made out to them.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 2:16 pm and is filed under City corridors, Community building, Development, Downtown, Events, Finance, Housing, Photos, Quality of life, Springfield, Urban Compass.