The state is having what might be it biggest yard sale ever. But don’t plan on browsing for gently used punch bowls or exercise equipment. They’re actually selling yards.
Dozens of properties are on the block. They are from Andover to Bridgeport, to Greenwich and beyond and range from a sliver of an acre to more than an acre and a half. They are also offering up a former jail and an armory.
The sale is an attempt to close the budget gap, and it's one place you could certainly find something for the person on your holiday list who has everything.
The budget approved in September requires that the state raise $15 million this fiscal year by selling assets it no longer needs and to raise $45 million in Fiscal 2011.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell had asked state agencies to go through the books and pick out the surplus property. Now, the list is out of what’s on the block. It includes the Seaside Regional Center in Waterford, which opened in the 1930s as the Seaside Sanitarium, and the former Nathan Hale Hotel site in Willimantic, which was built as a hotel in 1926 and converted to a college dormitory in 1969.
“These properties range from an outstanding waterfront location to dozens of spots owned by the DOT across the state. We must do all in our power to meet the goals of the budget and reduce the current-year budget deficit. Selling these parcels will bring in cash for the state without adding to the burdens on taxpayers or employers,” Rell said.
If you don’t see something you like now, check again in early 2010. There will be another state yard sale then.
Local
The state set up a Web site with all you ever wanted to know about owning 1.8 acres on Sayle Avenue in Putnam or 1.6 acres on the northeast site of Route 2 in East Hartford.
Come to think of it, check the site now if you think you might want to bid on anything because the rules are there.
The state has been selling off property in recent months. There have been five auctions on state cars, which raised $2.6 million. And last week, the Department of Administrative Services auctioned off 202 things and raised $432,900.
