By Doug La Rocque
Though much talked about throughout the Taconic Valley, the auction of 12 pieces of property drew very little interest when it came time for the auctioneer to start his famous call.[private] According to Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger, only one bid was actually tendered, that being on the old Bank property on Route 22. Jaeger, who attended the auction, said that bid of $100,000 was offered by a representative of the Stewart’s Ice Cream company who has expressed interest in that lot to relocate their current shop in the village. It’s not known if the bid will be accepted by the holding company that currently owns the property, as they had requested a starting bid of $120,000.
The other 11 pieces of property, including the old Colonial Hotel where the auction was held, and two parcels across from it, failed to attract any bids. In fact, only four people actually signed up to bid on the properties. Jaeger speculates that many of the starting bid levels were too high in comparison to what similar properties might go for at auction.
The Eastwick Press reached out to The Real, a Houston, Texas based company that organized and ran the auction for their thoughts on the auction, but they declined to comment.[/private]