Portsmouth McIntyre federal building auction: New bid adds 24 hours more

Jeff McMenemy, Portsmouth Herald
·2 min read

PORTSMOUTH — The Thomas J. McIntyre federal building online auction shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

The General Services Administration, which owns the 80 Daniel St. property, extended the auction for another 24 hours to early Thursday afternoon, after receiving a new high bid Wednesday.

Bidder No. 4 posted a bid of $8.55 million early Wednesday afternoon, the minimum required $50,000 higher than the previous high bid of $8.5 million, which was made by Bidder No. 1 a day earlier.

The Thomas J. McIntyre federal building on Daniel Street in Portsmouth is set to be sold at auction.
The Thomas J. McIntyre federal building on Daniel Street in Portsmouth is set to be sold at auction.

GSA has not identified any of the 4 bidders for the 2.1-acre property and won’t until it accepts a high bid, according to GSA spokesperson Paul Hughes.

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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, has not posted any new bids in several days.

Every time the GSA receives a new high bid, the auction is immediately extended by another 24 hours, Hughes said.

The auction, which began in June, will not end until 24 hours pass without a new high bid, Hughes said.

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There have now been 25 bids made for the property, which is located a stone’s throw away from Portsmouth’s popular restaurant-lined waterfront.

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 subsequently sued each other.

The existing federal building contains 107,000 square feet of gross building area, according to the GSA, with 44 indoor parking spaces and a two-tier outdoor parking lot with 91 spaces, along with eight loading bay doors.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth McIntyre federal building auction: New bid keeps it going