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Tuesday, April 05, 2011

American Bank Refuses To Abandon Hope ... Road

At their April 4 meeting, Bethlehem Township Commissioners unanimously approved the sale of vacated 1.1 acre portion of Hope Road, located on the eastern boundary of Southmont Mall. But the property sold for only $31,500, far less than its original $225,000 appraised value.

Solicitor Jim Broughal told Commissioners that this tract is already encumbered by a utility easement, but American Bank had expressed interest in purchasing it for use as a driveway for a future branch. In a public bidding process, only American Bank made an offer, and that was for only $15,000.

Noting that the property is undevelopable by itself, Broughal went back to the appraiser. Fair market value was adjusted downward, but was still $31,500, over twice what American Bank had bid. But instead of saying Nope, American Bank said Hope, and agreed to pay the higher figure for the abandoned road.

Commissioner Thomas Nolan, attending a Bethlehem Library Board meeting on behalf of the Township, was absent.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 8:57 AM

    1.1 acre, thats about 260 feet square, for 225,000 ???? is there gold on that land? 30 some thousand is a fair price. why make a big deal out of it? I mean it aint like living on top of the army and navy store

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 9:06 AM

    Banks & Lawyers, the root of many an evil...

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 9:46 AM

    Banks are the best. They more than double-paid for a property that everyone agrees cannot be developed. Bank execs are cashing huge bonuses as their institutions are rolling in it. There must be lots of cash to burn. Are they using the piles of profit they made after taking Charlie Dent's TARP gift?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bernie O'HareApril 5, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    8:57, I'm not making a big deal of it. I'm telling what happened.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 12:45 PM

    Did anyone get to the part about where they're going to use this parcel as an access point for a contiguous parcel where the branch will be located? So for $31,500 Mark Jaindl made his branch parcel more accessible and no doubt valuable.

    Also I don't think anyone in the Jaindl family ever overpaid for anything, especially real estate.

    The Banker

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousApril 6, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    American Bank = Jaindl

    ReplyDelete

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