Gibsonville board authorizes sale of quarter-acre property by sealed bid

By Charity L. Cohen

Special to The Alamance News

The Gibsonville board of aldermen has authorized the sale by sealed bid of a 0.268-acre portion of land located at 534-564 Minneola Street in Gibsonville. The bidding will close at 2:00 p.m. on March 27 and the property will be awarded to the highest bidder on April 3 at 7:00 p.m.

The town purchased the property to use for the building of the new Gibsonville Public Library. The land is beside the town’s Community Center. The church is on the western side of a wooded area which has an open field immediately beside the center.

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After the town purchased the parcel, Cappadocia Holiness Church, which is located at 600 Minneola Street beside the undeveloped land, made the town aware that part of the property is currently occupied by graves belonging to the church.

Initially, the town agreed to sell the 0.268-acre tract to Cappadocia so that the church could preserve and retain access to the graves. Town manager Ben Baxley said the town still intends to combine the rest of the property – excluding the 0.268-acre tract – with its neighboring lot for a future location for the Gibsonville Public Library. The two parcels together will make a plot of 5.571 acres for the library’s future construction.

The aldermen initially set the minimum bid for the property at $12,000 to cover the price paid for the land by the town, but the church said it wasn’t able to meet that minimum bid.

On February 6, the board decided to initiate a sealed bid process, allowing members of the public to bid on the property. There is no minimum bid; however, five percent of the bid amount must be paid as a deposit to the town. The deposit of the highest bidder will be held by the town until the sale of the property closes – deposits by all other bidders will be returned once the property is awarded.

Baxley said the town has already received one bid, but the current bid and any others will remain sealed until the public opening on Monday, March 27 at 2:00 p.m. Bids must be submitted to the Gibsonville town hall to be considered.