NORTHAMPTON — After initially hoping to receive a bidder for the purchase and redevelopment of the 33 King St. property by July 10, the city has been forced to extend that deadline after receiving no bidders by that date.
The city, which officially released another request for proposals effort on July 31, is now looking for a minimum bid of $2.1 million for the property and for all bids to be submitted by Sept. 6 at 1 p.m.
During the Transportation and Parking Commission meeting on Aug. 20, Director of Planning & Sustainability Carolyn Misch said that the bidding process will take a little longer than expected, which means the city is planning on putting forward a plan soon to meter the parking spaces behind 33 King St. so the public can use them in the meantime.
“We’ve reissued the RFP, and we hope to have a bidder soon,” Misch said. “We’ve extended the timeline for the prospective buyers to take the property, which means that that lot is available for public use.”
The building, which used to be the probate court, family court and Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, was transferred from the state to the city last summer and has been vacant since 2019. According to the request for proposals document, the building was constructed in 1975.
The city is now looking for a developer to buy the 1.46-acre location and redevelop it into a “new multi-story building that compliments existing and surrounding, architecture and the residential, and business environment.”
The Northampton City Council officially approved the RFP’s language and criteria for the building last September. During that time, the council and a couple of its committees workshopped language around a point-based scoring system within the RFP to help determine which projects from bidders are considered more advantageous to the city.
According to the current RFP, certain proposals that include features like mixed income housing, 20 or more parking spaces and/or a multi-story building with three floors would be considered favorably.
The city is also looking for any project proposals that would benefit the vibrancy of the downtown area like a multi-story hotel, housing of any kind or other economic development that generates an active street life.
“The city will accept bids that meet the city’s bid minimum, this RFP and generate the greatest revenue to the city upon evaluation based on a 10-year horizon of financial benefit to the city,” reads the RFP.
Once a bid is awarded by the city, the purchase and sale will happen within six months of the award and closing on the property will be required to occur by June 1.
