For as much drama as preceded its birth as an attraction, there was little to be said Friday morning at the foreclosure auction of Presidents Park.
The proceeding was almost quaint, with trustee Michael A. Glasser on the York-Poquoson Courthouse steps, reading the nearly 10-acre property’s legal description that included measurement landmarks like white oaks, a cedar tree and swamp and referred to the land relative to its “Morning Light.”
There were no bidders but for a $1.5 million offer from the noteholder who sought the sale. According to county property records, the two parcels that make up the park are assessed at about $2.1 million. The note defaulted on was $3.3 million.
Not included in the sale are the 43 presidential busts, each of which stands nearly 20 feet tall. Those are considered personal property, for which about $200,000 in personal property taxes are owed York County, according to County Attorney James Barnett.
The auction notice stated the personal property, including the Presidential busts, may be subject to a lien by York County but Barnett said no such action has been taken.
“There was some concern that getting a judgment would mean the county would end up owning the heads,” Barnett said. He noted if the county did end up with the heads and couldn’t sell them, one likely outcome would be “destroying the asset we sued to get.”
The property’s sale comes after the park closed in September 2010, with owner Everette “Haley” Newman’s efforts to find a buyer having failed. Newman, who fought York County in court to develop the attraction and won, had listed the property since 2007 for $4.5 million. Click here to read a story about Newman’s interest in the park.
Newman told WYDaily’s Desiree Parker just before the park closed that opening the attraction had cost himself and his investors some $10 million, including artist David Adickes’ commission to carve the busts.
Representatives from two local real estate firms attended the auction, but offered no bid. The sale price was a little steep for a property that carries many liabilities, one person said, not the least of which are the 43 presidential heads.
