Union Mills sale pending
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| The Union Mills Lofts condo project, in the works for several years, was to fall under the auctioneer's gavel Wednesday. The live auction was canceled but a buyer appears to have materialized through a private negotiation. Photo by Claude Haton |
NYC investor appears likely to buy condos
By Colin DeVries
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
CATSKILL — Two years and $9 million later, Union Mills Lofts may soon have a new owner.
Tranzon auctioneer Steve Coons said he was in negotiations with a New York City investor to purchase the more than 69,000-square-foot, mixed-use condominium project for $1.5 million, the minimum bid.
Waiving a live auction slated to take place Wednesday in the Union Mills Lofts 361 Main St. storefront, Cooney said there were few registered bidders and not enough in attendance to induce competitive bidding.
The prospective purchaser, Cooney said, was excited to renew enthusiasm in the project and get it started again.
“It will be a big deal again,” Cooney said. “Someone is going to buy this property and they will finish the project out and it will be good for the community.”
According to an appraisal by the Capstone Appraisal Group of East Greenbush, the property — which includes a six-level warehouse along the Catskill Creek and a three-story retail space on Main Street — was valued at $5.05 million in April 2008 before construction began.
Jim Cunliffe, former developer of the project, said Monday four of the 25 loft units proposed for the warehouse were “99 percent complete.”
A functional six-level elevator was installed in the building and a large portion of the “south core” — or the southern half of the 19th century 45,405-square-foot warehouse — was near completion or prepped for interior work. Much of the “north core” was left untouched when construction stalled last winter.
The expansive first level of the Main Street storefront, formerly the showroom of Oren’s Furniture, has remained largely vacant during construction though hosted the occasional art exhibition or community function. The total commercial space is 24,217 square feet.
A glass-walled pedestrian bridge connects the retail space to the warehouse, stretching over Water Street.
Cunliffe contributed the project’s regress to the death of its primary investor and the collapsing housing market.
He had offered to purchase the property with another group of investors but no deal could be reached.
With the closing of this latest sale, the property will have changed hands four times in the last six years.
In November 2004, longtime business Oren, A. & Sons, Inc. sold the property to Hassan Gholizadeh for $700,000. Gholizadeh, a commercial developer in New York City, sold the property two years later to Catskill Manor, LLC for $2 million.
Catskill Manor, LLC began securing permits for the development in 2007 and construction was underway by December 2008.
According to tranzon.com, $7 million was invested in the property.
More information on Union Mills Lofts, including floor plans, is available at unionmills-catskill.com.
Tranzon auctioneer Steve Coons said he was in negotiations with a New York City investor to purchase the more than 69,000-square-foot, mixed-use condominium project for $1.5 million, the minimum bid.
Waiving a live auction slated to take place Wednesday in the Union Mills Lofts 361 Main St. storefront, Cooney said there were few registered bidders and not enough in attendance to induce competitive bidding.
The prospective purchaser, Cooney said, was excited to renew enthusiasm in the project and get it started again.
“It will be a big deal again,” Cooney said. “Someone is going to buy this property and they will finish the project out and it will be good for the community.”
According to an appraisal by the Capstone Appraisal Group of East Greenbush, the property — which includes a six-level warehouse along the Catskill Creek and a three-story retail space on Main Street — was valued at $5.05 million in April 2008 before construction began.
Jim Cunliffe, former developer of the project, said Monday four of the 25 loft units proposed for the warehouse were “99 percent complete.”
A functional six-level elevator was installed in the building and a large portion of the “south core” — or the southern half of the 19th century 45,405-square-foot warehouse — was near completion or prepped for interior work. Much of the “north core” was left untouched when construction stalled last winter.
The expansive first level of the Main Street storefront, formerly the showroom of Oren’s Furniture, has remained largely vacant during construction though hosted the occasional art exhibition or community function. The total commercial space is 24,217 square feet.
A glass-walled pedestrian bridge connects the retail space to the warehouse, stretching over Water Street.
Cunliffe contributed the project’s regress to the death of its primary investor and the collapsing housing market.
He had offered to purchase the property with another group of investors but no deal could be reached.
With the closing of this latest sale, the property will have changed hands four times in the last six years.
In November 2004, longtime business Oren, A. & Sons, Inc. sold the property to Hassan Gholizadeh for $700,000. Gholizadeh, a commercial developer in New York City, sold the property two years later to Catskill Manor, LLC for $2 million.
Catskill Manor, LLC began securing permits for the development in 2007 and construction was underway by December 2008.
According to tranzon.com, $7 million was invested in the property.
More information on Union Mills Lofts, including floor plans, is available at unionmills-catskill.com.
This will be a great thing for Catskill..... let's rejuvenate this wonderful town!
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