RUMFORD – Selectmen on Thursday agreed to extend the closing date for the purchase of Abbott Farm Plaza until April 25.
Town Manager Steve Eldridge said the expected new owners, Strategic Retail Advisors of Framingham, Mass., and WRE Commercial Brokers of Portland, wanted more time to complete a series of inspections at the building complex.
The original closing date, when the town accepted the bid for the property last month, was April 4.
SRA and WRE are doing business in Rumford as Rumford Realty Partnership LLC. They agreed to pay the town $230,000 for the buildings and eight acres on which the buildings and parking lot sit. They also have the right of first refusal for the purchase of the remaining 70-plus acres surrounding the buildings.
Eldridge said the expected buyers want to complete additional inspections to look for possible further repairs and for future building upgrades. The new owners are scheduled to replace the roof between the former Ames store and the former Hannaford store at a cost of about $140,000, he said.
The delay in closing the deal doesn’t mean anything, said Eldridge.
“They are moving forward. They are very upbeat,” he said.
He said Rumford Realty Partnership LLC plans to sign a lease for the plaza’s first tenant by the end of the week. Two other businesses are expected to follow soon after.
The plaza has been virtually vacant since its anchor, Ames Department Store, went bankrupt about three years ago. The plaza’s owners, Druker Inc. of Massachusetts, eventually donated the property to the town. Rumford Realty Partnership is the second firm to bid on the property. The first bidder’s plan fell through in January.
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