Man on way to finally securing vacant house

Adam M. Brown, owner of A. Brown Properties LLC, has set himself up to own the vacant house at 523 Jefferson St., the same property for which he had offered to pay the city $500 in mid-May.

Mr. Brown was among 13 other bidders at a city property auction Wednesday afternoon at City Hall, 245 Washington St. The Gotham Street man paid $2,250 for the house and promptly left the room after placing the winning bid.

Mr. Brown's spring purchase offer for the property touched off a debate within City Hall that led to more than 60 parcels in the immediate area being rezoned.

At the time of Mr. Brown's proposal to renovate the house, the city-owned property sat in a light-industrial district and could not be used for residential purposes without the property being rezoned.

The City Council subsequently agreed to rezone parcels fronting Factory Street, from Mechanic to High streets, and High Street, from Factory to Olive streets, for commercial uses, and parcels fronting Jefferson Street were rezoned residential C. In total, 36 properties were rezoned for residential C, and 27 were zoned for commercial use.

The entire neighborhood previously was zoned a light-industrial district, which does not allow homes to be constructed or additions to be built onto existing structures.

The City Council agreed to allow the public to bid on the Jefferson Street property, despite Mr. Brown's initial purchase offer.

Included in the auction were 21 other parcels; 13 received bids. Only two parcels — 165 Rear Union St. and VL-4 Water St. — received bids higher than the minimum set by the city.

In a separate auction held just before the property auction, the city included five parcels where the city owns the tax sale certificate but has not taken ownership because of concerns with contamination. Those properties were:

■ 560 W. Main St., $100.

■ 430 Court St., $150.

■ 1543 State St., $8,750.

■ 451 Martin St., no bids.

■ 465 Martin St., no bids.

The property at 1543 State St. was awarded to Neil A. Fox, Dexter. Once the winning bidders for the properties are given the tax certificate, they can request a tax deed from the city.

The City Council must approve all bids before the winning bidders can take ownership of the properties.