County Wants Quick Sale of Franklin Building

SALEM, OR-Two weeks after a nobody chose to participate in the sealed bid auction, Marion County is stumping for a quick sale of its surplus Franklin Building, a 30,467-sf, six-story historic building that sits across from the county courthouse. The county is not yet represented by a real estate firm.

County business services director David Hartwig laid out the situation in a letter notifying interested buyers that the sealed bid process was out and that the building is now available on a first-come, first-served basis. “Marion County will consider any proposals and/or offers on the building,” he wrote. “Time is of the essence. Proposals should be submitted without delay … .”

The minimum bid price for the auction that attracted no bidders was $1.275 million, just slightly over the appraised price. Open houses were held in mid-March to garner interest, and they did, county facilities manager Bob McCune told GlobeSt shortly after the auction deadline. “I expected it to get bids,” he said. “I was in the building during the open houses and there were quite a few people asking pertinent questions and seeming interested.”