(6/27/07) UMass, through the State's Division of Capital Asset Management, has completed its purchase of the North Pleasant Street land formerly occupied by five fraternity houses. The State paid Alpha Tau Gamma, Inc. $2.5 million for the properties at 375, 387, 389, 395 and 401 North Pleasant Street. The single deed transferring ownership of the contiguous parcels was signed June 25th and recorded at the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds on June 27th.
The fraternities were demolished last fall and grass has been planted on the cleared land this spring.
Comments
Yeah, that's just great. Millions more of formerly revenue producing tax property now forever removed from the tax rolls.
Posted by: Larry Kelley | June 27, 2007 06:41 PM
Larry: I agree. But these could have been bought by someone other than the University, right?
Posted by: Matthew Cornell | June 29, 2007 08:12 AM
Yes the previous owners actually had them on Ebay for a while, but I think they were asking $5 million.
And if anybody OTHER than a non-profit made the purchase they would be paying the town $35,000 to $40,000 right now.
Of course Amherst College purchased the Dakin Estate just over two years ago for $4.3 million (notice they can afford more than poor little UMass) and took that away from Barry Roberts. So if Barry had won the bid he would have paid the town about $60,000 the first year and then done a development that would have generated two or three times that last year (as Barry is pretty quick getting things don) and every year onward, plus 2.5%.
Posted by: Larry Kelley | June 29, 2007 01:30 PM
It was my impression that the Dakins left there estate to UMass where it's now the Center for Renaissance Studies:
http://www.umass.edu/renaissance/tour.htm
Posted by: Jan | July 4, 2007 06:43 AM
Another Dakin perhaps (or another of their properties).
But all I know is the property immediately adjacent to Amherst College's 9-hole golf course (that unlike Cherry Hill actually makes money) on South Pleasant Street went up for auction two years ago and Amherst College paid $4.3 million for it (interestingly Amherst College turned down the property a year or two earlier for less than half that amount).
Posted by: Larry Kelley | July 4, 2007 12:26 PM
The site of the UMass Center of Renaissance Studies is the former home of Janet and Toby Dakin, left in Janet's will to UMass. The (36-acre?)property Larry Kelley is referring to belonged to a Dakin relative and was sold at auction after his death.
Eva
Posted by: Eva Schiffer | August 26, 2007 09:21 PM
The property on South Pleasant Street was the long-time residence of Toby Dakin's brother Arthur. Barry Roberts and Amherst College's representative were among several bidders participating in the on-site auction, which was also attended by other developers who registered but never placed bids. The college's rep seemed determined to outbid everybody.
Posted by: Kay Moran | August 29, 2007 10:55 AM
Yeah, well when you have a billion dollar endowment it’s not too hard to outbid everybody.
I actually heard they might use the land to expand their golf course into an 18-hole operation. Good news for the town since the Amherst Golf Course, unlike our municipal White Elephant, actually pays property taxes (about $7,000) thus at least doubling that payment to the town.
Of course, if Barry Roberts had won the bid and developed it the town would get ten times that amount.
Hey, a hundred grand here and a hundred grand there…pretty soon you’re talking real money.
Posted by: Larry Kelley | August 29, 2007 11:13 AM