Allan Appel Photo
The sprawling eyesore of a warehouse that used to be the Cott beverage plant in Fair Haven now has a new owner. It’s not fledgling local developer Fernando Pastor, who had grand visions of redeveloping it. The new owner said he’s open to such ideas — and to working with Pastor.
Meet New York-based publisher Ian Shapolsky . He was the only tenant in the building, and now the new owner. Maybe.
On Saturday morning he prevailed in a tense foreclosure proceeding brought against the warehouse’s owners by the city for back taxes. He bought the 64,000-square-foot behemoth at Chatham and Ferry streets and its adjacent empty lots for $67,000.
The only other bidder was the city itself. When the court’s attorney Albert Oneto (on left in photo above, shaking hands with Shapolsky) called the proceeding to order at noon sharp under a sunny sky, the city’s representative Alfred Onerato bid $66,000.
That was approximately 10 percent of the most recent appraisal of the property.
“Are there other bids?” called out Oneto.
No answer.
“Can I consult?” asked Shapolsky. Oneto nodded.
Shapolsky stepped to the side and spoke with his friend Nino Cohen. Cohen, owner of New York Stone, had several years ago also been a tenant in the building, which has been long troubled by graffiti, vandalism, the dolorous neglect of absentee landlordship.
Shapolsky came back: “67,000.”
“Are there any other bids?” asked Oneto.
According to court papers, the city was owed $96,000 in back taxes, and likely a piece of the current year’s annual $54,000 assessment.
The current owners and landlords, Chatham Partners, took out a $1 million loan in 2006 to the buy the property. Neither they, nor the entity that held that mortgage, named in papers as Park Avenue Bank, at 460 Park Ave. in New York, were present at the foreclosure sale.
Oneto waited. There was silence from the city’s attorney. Oneto repeated the request for other bidders to come forward again, and a third time. Are there any other bids?
Then it was done, and Oneto and Shapolsky shook hands (pictured at the top of the story).
Notably silent during the auction: Fernando Pastor (foreground in photo, with Oneto) and his colleague Joseph Banks.
They had told city and neighborhood officials wanted to obtain the derelict property for redevelopment through their SeedNewHaven group, with the hope of turning an eyesore into a mix of residences and stores. Click here for a previous story. They had been trying to get inside to make an assessment before preparing a bid.
“We wanted to see the place a month ago,” said Pastor. Despite talks to various city and political officials, they could not gain access before Saturday morning. So he did not have in hand a check for $80,000 (10 percent of a previous appraisal), which would have been the price for a tour of the cavernous building and participation in the sale.
Pastor said he and his partners had serious concerns. They knew there were leaks and fire in the history of the structure, which was also long troubled by break-ins.
“We were very interested in the property, but we couldn’t get any information,” he said.
Partner Banks added that there were likely asbestos and all kinds of environmental issues to deal with as well. “Without knowing the liability, we decided not to bid,” he said.
As a tenant Shapolsky knew what was inside: a vast, unlit space, vandalized multiple times, stripped bare of pipes, with a leaky roof, puddles of water, and no bathroom.
Yes, he had lost some books to the leaks, he said, but the building was so vast they just moved the books to areas that had no leaks.
Also present to observe the sale was Frank D’Ostillo, a vice president with the George J. Smith & Son commercial and investment real estate firm of Milford. He knew the building, too. “The roof leaks more than Niagara Falls,” he said. He said Chatham Partners could not find a way to secure the place against repeated vandalism. Everything of value was gone from the inside, including the copper pipes. “It’s basically a shell.”
Tenant Shapolsky knew, and yet he still bid. Why?
Shapolsky said he was getting a good deal. Plus, it’s expensive to store books and very expensive to move them, he said.
Yet his volumes occupy only two skids worth in a corner of the three-leveled cavernous space. What will he do with all the rest of the space?
“I haven’t figured that out,” he said.
Would he be interested in speaking with Pastor and Banks, who had ideas for redevelopment with jobs and job training partners perhaps anchoring the building as renters? And maybe there could be sports-oriented activities that might appeal to soccer-oriented Hispanic neighbors?
“I’d love to speak to them,” Shapolsky said. “The goal is to make something of this place. If he [Pastor] has some great creative ideas, we’d like to use it for some greater purpose than storing my books.”
“Is he already your architect?” a reporter asked.
“He’s the only one that showed up. He’s got the inside track,” the publisher replied.
Shapolsky also said that he would be delighted to meet with the management team and other local groups.
As they walked off toward the building, Pastor, who had spoken to Shapolsky before the bidding, said, “He [Shapolsky] speaks Spanish!” from his publishing experiences in Argentina. “This is an amazing development.”
Saying that, Shapolsky took Pastor and Banks in arm for a tour of his new building.
“These things take years to be over,” said Banks. “We’re ecstatic that someone is interested in investing in the community.”
The sale remains to be approved by the court, which sometimes looks askance at a price so far below appraised value.