Auburn council picks from competing offers for vacant property
The Auburn City Council voted Thursday to approve the sale of a vacant home, but not before a competing party made a last-minute pitch at the meeting.
Councilors selected an offer from Michael Irwin, of Ohio, to buy the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house at 10 Nelson St. for $20,000. The land sale resolution requires Irwin to obtain the necessary permits to renovate the home within 30 days from the closing date. The renovations must be completed within two years.
Jennifer Haines, the city's director of planning and economic development, told the council that resolutions usually require one year for rehabilitation. But 10 Nelson St. has "significant structural issues," so that deadline was extended to two years.
Before the vote, Auburn resident James Udall spoke at the meeting. He represents AJS Housing, which also submitted an offer to buy the home.
Udall provided the council with a comparison of the offers. AJS Housing wanted to buy 10 Nelson St. for $35,000, he said, and would've renovated the property into a multi-family home with four units. That differs from Irwin's plan, which is to make it a single-family home.
During his comments at the meeting and in a message to The Citizen, Udall noted AJS Housing has already renovated a property at 24 Nelson St.
"We are here in the city," he said. "We have a track record."
When the council considered the resolution, Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino asked Haines to provide more information about the offers.
Haines said she spoke with Udall this week and he offered $35,000 for the property. With this offer, the city would hold the mortgage with 5% interest over two years, she said, and AJS Housing is applying for a $200,000 grant from Finger Lakes Community Action. The organization is seeking state funding that, if awarded, would be provided to Udall's group.
According to Haines, an issue that arose was that if AJS Housing did not receive the grant, they wanted the ability to resell the property.
"The concern that staff had around that was the condition of the property and the need for it to be moved forward in a fairly quick fashion in order to not go through another winter," said Haines, who added that the city does not hold mortgages for properties it sells.
Earlier, Udall questioned why his group was not allowed to make a best and final offer for the property. Haines acknowledged the city did not provide that opportunity. In response to a question from Councilor Rhoda Overstreet-Wilson, Haines explained the city "has the ability to accept or reject any purchase offers on properties and, simply, it was our staff recommendation to go with the cash offer and the quicker rehab process."
There was some suspense with the vote because land sale resolutions require four votes and one councilor, Terry Cuddy, was absent. Overstreet-Wilson liked Udall's plan to transform the property into a multi-family home, but ultimately voted with Giannettino and councilors Christina Calarco and Ginny Kent to approve Irwin's offer.
Government reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or . Love Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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