My town is for sale on eBay

[Raphael]

Well not all of it...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110007640298

  That 18th century Hall and Parlor was built by Reverand Starr and used as the parsonage for a good many years before my great great grandfather bought it in the 1800's.  The last Swift to live there was my Grandfather's cousin Robert, those barns weren't stone then, the stone was needlessly added about four years ago.

  The General Store was owned and operated by four generations of my forefathers, two generations of Swifts and two of Talmadges.  My great grandfather Talmadge Swift was the last Warren General Store proprietor in our family, he sold before my grandfather was born.

  That's most of the commercially zoned land in town being sold in a single auction, but don't believe the part about building condominiums, he's already been shot down at zoning and planning on that one.  We've got a 32' height restriction on dwellings, 2.5 acre zoning right now and are moving to soil based zoning which will increase the average building lot's size due to the abundance of wetlands.

Anyone got five million dollars they want to get rid of?  I've got a great 'developement' plan that's sure to meet with local approval and only 'lose' 2 to 3 million in the first year.  ;)

[asy]

Hey Raph,

Do you come with it???  :D

Seriously, though, the buildings look gorgeous!

What's the town going to do with the $$$?

asy :D

[Raphael]

Hey Raph,

Do you come with it???  :D

Nope... but I'm less than a 1/4 milae away and you do get a good view of all my relatives who are no longer with us.
We gave some land adjascent to that house to the town for a cemetary back in the early 1800's, it's full now except the section reserved for us.

Seriously, though, the buildings look gorgeous!

What's the town going to do with the $$$?

Unfortunately the town won't get anything out of a sale except maybe some tax revenue...  I think we're most likely to get abandoned buildings.

  The fellow selling came in and bought up the center of town in three purchases then proceeded to renovate everything for resale.  He's done this successfully before, but this time he's a bit out of his usual geographic range and has spent himself into a corner, the people he's trying to lease commercial space to can't afford to run a business paying the rent he needs to cover his investment.
  I think this eBay auction is a last ditch attempt to salvage a profit before he pulls a cut and run, last week the price was 4.5 million, I'd guess he's got close to 3.5 million invested and really that's about all it's worth.  If he succeeds in selling at 5 million the new owner had best be looking for a major tax write off.

  The old Starr/Swift house would make a great Bed and Breakfast and he's had one or two serious lookers at that side of the street.  I think he was a bit shocked when the first one said they'd need to get all that cheesey stone off the barns.

Welcome to Eric Sloane country where stuctural stonework means something and decorative stone over historic timber barns is considered a sin.