Auction Firm Proposes Multi-Property Sale

Of Town’s Queen Street Holdings

By Steve Bigham

A local auction house has expressed interest in assisting the town in selling off the town-owned Queen Street properties.

Jack and Rosie DeStories of Fairfield Auction have submitted a proposal to the town in which they would conduct a massive real estate auction of the properties.

“We will make it an event,” Mrs DeStories promised.

Fairfield Auction opened at 53 Church Hill Road (in the Sonics & Materials building) this past spring and has conducted several auctions there since. Fairfield Auction is also capable of taking its business on the road and has a strong background in real estate auctions. The sale of the Queen Street properties would be done at an on-site public auction.

Mr and Mrs DeStories met with the Board of Selectmen Monday night to propose auctioning off the six homes and five lots all at once. Town officials had considered auctioning off the properties separately, a move Fairfield Auction strongly advises against.

“If you’re going to market the auction, you want to have as big a bang as possible. If you piece it out, you won’t have as big a bang,” Mr DeStories said. “There is a lot of psychology in an auction. When a lot of people come together for an auction, they think that everyone wants the same property as them. It creates a competitive atmosphere.”

Fairfield Auction would receive a 3.85 percent commission for its work. A realtor would receive two percent of that commission should he or she bring the buyer to the auction. No auction date has been set, although the selectmen have considered holding it next spring.

The town purchased the small homes from the state two years ago for $1.2 million following the closing of Fairfield Hills Hospital. The homes once housed Fairfield Hills staff members.

The town’s intention was to acquire the homes to avoid future development there, then eventually sell them for a profit. Each property will be sold with deed restrictions requiring them to remain single-family units.

Interest in the small to mid-size homes has been huge as potential buyers have crowded Edmond Town Hall’s phone lines with questions.

This past summer, resident Kim Danziger urged the town to get the most money it can, suggesting that the town consider knocking the homes down. Empty building lots in Newtown are going for $200,000. The Queen Street lots are prime parcels, he said, suggesting that the town even consider re-arranging the lots or making them age-restricted (55 and over).

All the lots will be sold, except for three one-acre lots most known for the scenic rolling hills and meadows behind them. The town plans to keep these properties.

It costs the town $10,000 per year to maintain the lots, located on a half-mile strip along the eastern side of Queen Street.

The town purchased each home at a cost that ranged from $76,500 to $140,000.

Local real estate firms – Curtiss & Crandon, William Pitt, Flagpole Realty, and Better Homes & Garden – have provided the town with competitive market analysis of the properties.