A view of the Saco River from the Elm Street bridge in Biddeford shows a warehouse building located on a four-acre property on Diamond Street. That property, along with eight acres owned by the city, and some other lots, is poised to see as many as 595 housing units over several buildings, the developers have previously said. Last week, the city council took action to foreclose on a vacant lot and if acquired, would turn it over to One Diamond Development LLC. The city noted the developer will invest in a bike path and the RiverWalk. Tammy Wells photo
BIDDEFORD – A majority of the Biddeford city council April 4 voted to initiate 45-day foreclosure proceedings on a Union Oil company parcel near the Diamond Match property. If the city acquires the property, it would then sell it for $1 as part of an agreed arrangement with a developer who plans to build housing units on the former Diamond Match property and some existing city-owned land.
City officials say the oil company property is contaminated, that property taxes were last paid around 2013, and an estimate of the amount owed is around $25,000.
Union Oil Company is no longer in business. City Councilor Bill Emhiser said he believed it had been purchased by Dead River Company in 2007.
The city has not previously conducted a foreclosure process on the property because of potential liability in owning a contaminated land parcel.
The agreement, an apparent attachment to a Joint Development Agreement signed by the city and One Diamond Development LLC, calls for the city to immediately sell the parcel to them once it is acquired. One Diamond Development LLC would assume responsibility for clean-up, according to City Manager James Bennett.
If the owner does pay the back taxes, it remains in their ownership – something understood by the developer, Bennett said.
Not all were happy with the plan. Councilor Liam LaFountain said he believed if the city acquired the property, it should be put out to bid.
“Typically, we’d have a sealed bid process,” he said, and asked if the property had been marketed.
“I’m not sure what we would market; right now, it’s nothing but a liability,” said Bennett. He noted the decision whether to place city property out to bid is a council decision – and at times they do, and in others, those choose not to do so.
Bennett pointed out that the developer’s obligations to the city include work on the RiverWalk and bike path, together worth about $1.7 million in today’s dollars. And he said there is language in the Joint Development Agreement that points to the city receiving $1 million from the developer for the city-owned parcels in the Diamond Match area, if the developer does not find land it could trade that is acceptable to the city council.
“I’m not opposed to selling the property and I’m not opposed to selling it to (One Diamond Development LLC) , I’m just opposed to the process,” said LaFountain. ” We may not get more than $1 we don’t know if we don’t put it out in a better process.”
“I tend to agree,” said councilor Marty Grohman. “I think we owe the process a little more time.”
City attorney Harry Center said his concern with the bid process is that a bid would have to be written that would offer terms that would indemnify the city and pay for potential clean up at the same time.
“I don’t see that garnering any interest from anyone,” he said.
“We don’t know till we try, “said LaFountain.
Others raised the prospect of acquiring the property, putting it out to bid, and not receiving any, leaving the city with a piece of contaminated property. And some expressed concern that breaching the agreement with One Diamond Development LLC could present problems.
Emhiser noted that the council agreed to put the Diamond Match project into a TIF, with the revenue going for affordable housing projects.
In the end, the foreclosure was approved, 6-3.
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