FALL RIVER -- It’s hard to keep count of how many times the city has tried to sell off the old Bedford Street police station. But the next effort may be a charm when the administration takes the property to auction next month, along with Nu-Chrome and another property on King Philip Street.
City Administrator Cathy Ann Viveiros and Matthew Thomas, the city’s tax title attorney, said they are finishing up a legal notice that should be published in The Herald News by Monday that will outline details of the auction.
The site visits for all three properties are scheduled for April 9, with the auctions set for April 23.
The city is owed more than $81,550 in back taxes, but will likely not come close to collecting that amount, if history is any indication.
In 2015, the city went out for a request for proposal to redevelop the more than 100-year-old structure and got only two bites. Local non-profits Greater Fall River Re-Creation and the Preservation Society of Fall River offered $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Viveiros said there had been some recent interest in the building, which is contaminated.
The building has undergone some remediation and a Haz-Mat study, which will be made available to potential bidders, Thomas said.
Located in the Industrial Park, Nu-Chrome owed more than $1.5 million in back taxes and was flagged by the federal government for cleanup for severe EPA violations when the city took the property over in 2012.
Thomas said Nu-Chrome's future use is dependent on the type and extent of contamination cleanup required, similar to the police station.
“It’s still a Brownfield and there is still some concern,” Thomas said.
The third property set for auction is at 755 King Philip St., a commercial property that operated as a restaurant, Thomas said. The city foreclosed on the property in the fall, he said.
“We want to get the properties out there as soon as possible to get them back on the tax rolls,” Thomas said.
Cognizant that the police station has been unsuccessfully redeveloped, Thomas said he feels it’s worth it to try again given the environmental work and the property’s location in the downtown area.
The downtown area, as well as the waterfront, is the subject of two urban renewal studies funded by the Fall River Redevelopment Authority and awaiting City Council approval.
Because the city is auctioning the properties it has less of an opportunity to dictate how the parcels will be redeveloped.
Thomas said that even though the city has no control of the reuse, it is putting in place safeguards, such as asking bidders for their plans for the three properties, histories of similar projects and letters from lenders or funders.
“We want to make sure the bidders are qualified and are buying the properties with their eyes wide open,” Thomas said.
Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.