The biggest real estate deal in the city’s history took place this week.Fourteen months after the former General Motors factory on Chippens Hill changed hands for $28 million, it’s been sold again, for more than twice as much.
Mayor Art Ward said Friday the old factory – now called the Bristol Business Center – was sold this week to a group of real estate investors for $60.5 million.
The ownership shuffle of the 780 James P. Casey Road factory has some immediate significance as well because the city earned $302,500 from the conveyance tax alone, he said.
Ward called it “a windfall to the community” that should help finance officials find the cash to pay high snow removal bills or repay ESPN some of the $890,000 the city owes to the sports giant.
On paper the deal simply shows that Bristol Industrial Partners, LLC sold the former factory to Bristol Center, LLC for the record amount.
The mayor said that “it speaks well for the community” that a group of New York City real estate investors would think highly enough of Bristol to put so much money into the factory, which has been filled since Clark Steel moved into the remaining vacant space last summer.
In November 2006, Bristol Industrial Associates, LLC sold the property for $28.3 million to a joint venture of Hudson Realty Capital of Hackensack, NJ and Savanna Partners of New York City.
The 1.2-million-square foot building is home to Firestone Building Products Co., Arett Sales, Clark Steel and some other companies.
The factory was empty in the mid-1990s after General Motors shut down its ball-bearing manufacturing operation there.
The company sold the empty building to S.F. Bristol for about $4 million in 1997. S.F. Bristol sold the property six years later for $23.5 million, according to assessment records.
As of Oct. 1, the property was appraised by the city for $38.28 million, which apparently was significantly lower than its market value.
The single-story factory was built in 1967. It has had substantial upgrades in the past decade.
Here's the appraisal information on the property
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
21 comments:
Seems like we have made a lot of progress in the past two years.
Seems like somebody got very lucky.
10:51pm, you really need to wake up with your eyes open, this abyss that you are in must be devastating.
"seems like somebody got very lucky" - gee, I wonder who that might be doofus, how about all of us? talk about being an example of malignant negativity.
...He's doing a great job and it's just killing some of you,isn't it?
the city gets 300,000, but whoever bought the thing last year is profiting almost $30 million.
please don't suggest that Art Ward is responsible for this sale.
...He certainly had something to do with it...why not applaud Bristol's good fortune instead of knocking the Mayor...
I like Art Ward, but come on, you people trying to give him any credit for this real estate transaction are not doing him any favors.
Applaud good fortune, but leave Ward out of it. He is not even slightly responsible for this. The only credit he should get is if he supported the conveyance tax law, which I think he did, though it was Zoppo's idea, and I have no problem admitting that.
.....it was never said that ward was responsible for this sale, he only stated how good that it was that some company was willing to invest 60 million dollars into Bristol's economy and you deprived pessimists can find fault with that? bristol can only be thankful/hopeful that you are not elected officials but then again, why would you be? You'd have to be able to look at things objectively ----NOT!
The city made out very well, but I need to be convinced that Ward, Rosenthal, Stortz, or any politician had anything to do it.
Lets let it go at that.
But we should still get rid of the conveyance tax, right Mr. Johnson?
Not a single politican or City Employee was even aware of the potential for the sale. It was all done very quietly. They found out when the conveyance tax was filed through the City Clerk's office.
But I guess we should still get rid of the evil conveyance tax, right Mr. Johnson?
And Ken Johnson didn't get any commission either.
He must be up set!!
Everyone here is so glad we have a conveyance tax and that some big-bucks buyer bought this place. Well it'll be interesting if this new onwer has to raise the rent and ends up driving the present businesses out of there. Then you'll all wish smaller owners who balked at this deal due to the conveyance tax bought the property. This lack of knowledge is typical of the Democrat voting block in Bristol.
8:56pm - since the inception of the conveyance tax, haven't heard of any republican elected officials who were in disagreement with it's usage - your point?
Looks like even the Developers don't want to talk with the citys Economic Development Director.
Maybe there is a reason for that?
January 21, 2008 8:18 AM:
What planet are you on?
1:54
Please explain?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
"8:56pm - since the inception of the conveyance tax, haven't heard of any republican elected officials who were in disagreement with it's usage - your point?
January 21, 2008 8:18 AM"
This statement is a total farce. Again, what planet have you been on?
Why hasn't Artie asked to have it reappraised?
What does Mocabeee and Johnson say aboutt he conveyance tax now?
Republican leadership???
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