AUBURN — Despite some concerns about having to dig up the Auburn Police Department’s old gas pumps and tanks, councilors agreed to sell the building to Chinese investors.
The Auburn City Council voted Monday to sell the old Police Station at 1 Minot Ave. to Miracle Enterprises LLC for $500,000.
Councilors said their only concern was having to pay to remove the old fueling station for Auburn police vehicles. Police now get fuel for their patrol cars at the Public Works Shops on Gracelawn Avenue, and the tanks have not been in use since 2011.
Assistant City Manager Denis D’Auteuil said it would cost the city an estimated $26,760 to dig up the old tanks and cart them away.
That was a relief for Councilor Belinda Gerry, who worried the price would be much higher.
“Seeing that it is such a little amount, I will be in support of this,” she said.
Councilor Tizz Crowley agreed.
“I’ve heard from some constituents that we should have included that work in the costs and let it come down on the buyers’ side,” Crowley said. “But it is a small cost and I think it’s worth getting this project back on the city tax rolls.”
Miracle Enterprises, a Maine company created in June and backed by investors from China, plans on making the building part of their four-star medical tourism complex.
Investors from the Guo Tou Sheng Tong Investment Co. LTD and Beijing HongYu Investments and Developments Co. LTD purchased the 67 Minot Ave. Lunn and Sweet building on July 30, along with the neighboring 81 Minot Ave. lot.
The group announced their plans to build a medical tourism destination Aug. 4, along with agreements with Central Maine Medical Center and a clearinghouse that connects Chinese patients with doctors.
The $40 million development would cater to wealthy Chinese patients seeking American medical treatments.
The 1 Minot Ave. lot is 1.2 acres and contains a two-story building. The building’s first floor is 7,504 square feet, the basement is 5,560 square feet and an attached garage is 2,304 square feet.
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