SNOHOMISH — The county ended up with zero qualified bidders when it took bids recently for its big vacant lot along Avenue D opposite 13th Street.
A number of parties are interested, but they want more time to evaluate the site before placing a bid, the site’s caretaker Randy Blair in public works said.
“The County is reviewing options which are more responsive to market conditions and purchaser interest,” Blair said by email.
Blair attributed higher interest rates and inflation as some of the deterrents.
The county set a minimum $10 million bid price for the round that ended Oct. 14. The one bidder that did submit didn’t meet this minimum price and other requirements, Blair said.
The site was the county’s county road maintenance and shop facility from the 1930s until 2008 when the county relocated these operations to Cathcart. After years of ground contamination cleanup work, the county hired a broker to sell the acreage at market value. As of last year, the plan was to use the sale money to go toward redeveloping the county’s road maintenance site in Arlington.
The city’s Midtown District guidelines, which cover most of north Avenue D, determine what might be built here.
