McIntyre building auction in Portsmouth closes at $9 million. Will high bid be accepted?

PORTSMOUTH — The online auction for the Thomas J. McIntyre federal building property closed early Friday morning with a final high bid of $9 million, according to the General Services Administration. It was not immediately known if the high bidder will acquire the property.

The auction for the 2.1-acre property at 80 Daniel St. began June 20 and closed at 4:24 a.m. Friday after 24 hours passed without a new high bid being posted, according to the GSA, which owns the property and ran the auction.

Bidder No. 1 posted the $9 million bid early Thursday morning, which at the time was $450,000 higher than a bid made Wednesday afternoon by Bidder No. 4.

The GSA has not identified any of the four bidders involved in the online auction, but will name the high bidder if it finalizes a deal for the property, GSA spokesperson Paul Hughes said previously.

30 days to decide if $9 million bid will be accepted

The GSA has the right to accept or reject any high bid, Hughes said.

He said Friday the online auction process includes a 30-day period “to allow GSA to determine if a high bid is acceptable. GSA can disclose the name of the high bidder once it determines the bid is acceptable."

Portsmouth voters: Read City Council candidates' views here and meet them at forums

Josh Soley, the president and CEO of Maine Realty Advisors in Portland, confirmed Thursday his company is Bidder No. 4. He also said, “I’m officially out now,” after learning of the $9 million bid and predicted, correctly, the auction would close Friday with a final high bid of $9 million.

Developer William Binnie confirmed more than a week ago his company had bid on the McIntyre.

However, Binnie, president of the locally owned Carlisle Capital Corporation, did not make any bids in the last several days leading up to the close on the online auction.

Portsmouth's long pursuit of McIntyre property

The city tried for the past several years to secure the McIntyre property for $1 through the government's Historic Monument Program.

GSA dropped Portsmouth from that program earlier this year when the city and its private development partner Redgate/Kane couldn’t agree on a redevelopment plan and the sides subsequently sued each other.

The City Council earlier this summer also hired a Washington, D.C. law firm to try to help convince the GSA to stop the online auction and give the property to the city for free.

City officials also reached out to the state’s Congressional delegation for help.

But Mayor Deaglan McEachern acknowledged the efforts of the law firm and the delegation were not successful.

The City Council had maintained that they should be allowed to acquire the property because of federal legislation passed by former U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg. But the GSA has consistently disagreed with the city and has continued with the online auction despite the city’s efforts.

Mayor points out city was asked for much more for McIntyre

Reached Friday morning, McEachern said he expects GSA will accept the $9 million bid.

But he pointed out that the final high bid “is significantly less than what they offered to sell it to the city for at $20 to 25 million.”

But he acknowledged that the “appetite to acquire the building for the city, even at a dollar, is strained.”

The redevelopment of the McIntyre property will now be up to the high bidder “and the city’s land-use boards,” McEachern said.

The mayor also noted the strain of the years-long process the city went through to try to acquire and redevelop the site.

"Obviously politically it hasn’t brought us together. It’s separated us and put people in camps,” McEachern said.

But he believes Bidder No. 1 has “the opportunity to do something great in that location.”

Activist has high hopes for eventual buyer

Bill Downey is one of the founders of Revisit McIntyre, a grassroots group that lobbied against a proposed development that had been previously pitched by the city and its former development partners Redgate/Kane.

Reached Friday morning after the auction was officially closed, he wished the development team for Bidder No. 1 well.

“I think it’s a potential gold mine both economically and socially,” Downey said. “My hope is that they possess a social conscience about the project.”

Downey acknowledged he was “disappointed that Bill Binnie’s group wasn’t successful, but at least we’re moving forward and we’re entering a new chapter.”

Downey said his biggest concern when the site is redeveloped is “overbuilding.”

“Whatever they do, it should complement and enhance not detract from our historic charm,” he said. “Ultimately an urban park on Bow Street would be a win-win.

"We don’t want Portwalk 2 there,” he added, referring to another large downtown development.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH: McIntyre federal building auction closes at $9 million