320 Court Street in Carroll Gardens
I received several reports regarding restaurateur James McGown's pre-forclosure auction of several properties in Carroll Gardens and Gowanus, which was held this past Friday. March 27th, at theBrooklyn Marriott Hotel.
According to one source, about 80 people attended the auction, which was conducted by East River Mortgage Corp., a defunct corporation owned by McGown, which filed for Chapter 11 in 2012.
Among the properties up for auction was 320 Court Street, the building currently housing the gastro-pub Buschenschank, an illegal private events space in the basement, and soon, a floatation therapy business on the second floor.
Though McGown had valued the building at $9.4 million, it was 'only' bid up to $3.8 million at Friday's auction.
Another source reported that several of the lots being auctioned off didn’t get any offers, "so the auctioneer said he’d come back to them at the end. Others were going for $1.2 million to - $1.5 million."
The long neglected buildings at 555 Union Street and 557 Union Street, received bids from the same buyer for $1.2 million each.
Obviously, McGown was disappointed with the results. Shortly after Friday's auction, he made the following announcement via email:
The auction did not go as well as planned. Several properties did not have offers sufficient to cover lien amounts so we could not accept them. Other bidders failed to produce down payment checks after bidding on the properties. As a result we are reconsidering the sale process.
We are currently offering the following properties for sale:
1511 Pacific St for $160,000 or best offer.
557 Union Street--$2M
555 Union St--$2M
The term of sale for the properties stipulated that the owner reserves the right to cancel any of the sales, so he does not need to accept any of the bids.
None of this probably comes as a surprise to those who have had dealings with McGown in the past. After all, he has become notorious for his questionable business practices, string of bankruptcy filings, and dilapidated buildings, which has earned him the nickname "bankruptcy baron" in the press.
It will be interesting to see what happens next.
Obviously, McGown was disappointed with the results. Shortly after Friday's auction, he made the following announcement via email:
The auction did not go as well as planned. Several properties did not have offers sufficient to cover lien amounts so we could not accept them. Other bidders failed to produce down payment checks after bidding on the properties. As a result we are reconsidering the sale process.
We are currently offering the following properties for sale:
1511 Pacific St for $160,000 or best offer.
557 Union Street--$2M
555 Union St--$2M
The term of sale for the properties stipulated that the owner reserves the right to cancel any of the sales, so he does not need to accept any of the bids.
None of this probably comes as a surprise to those who have had dealings with McGown in the past. After all, he has become notorious for his questionable business practices, string of bankruptcy filings, and dilapidated buildings, which has earned him the nickname "bankruptcy baron" in the press.
It will be interesting to see what happens next.
555 Union Street and 557 Union Street in Gowanus were offered at the auction,
but the bid was not accepted.
but the bid was not accepted.
(photo credit: www.google.com/maps)
.JPG)
