WINSLOW — The Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday to sell a town-owned property on the Heywood Road for $2 million to Orion Ropeworks during a special council meeting held virtually.
The building houses Johnny’s Selected Seeds on one side and Orion Ropeworks on the other. Now both businesses will own their portions of the building.
Winslow Town Manager Erica LaCroix expressed her approval of the contract prior to the council passing both of the required votes.
“I believe it’s a fair offer considering the current state of the property being that we’d need to put money down, down the road, if we kept it,” LaCroix said. “It’s a fair offer from Orion, and it’s a business that we want to keep here and keep going.”
Coldwell Banker real estate agent Don Plourde, who worked with the town on the transaction, echoed that there are problems with the building, but said that Orion understands the issues. There is no contingency to fix any problem, but there is a due-diligence period. Nothing in the offer says the town has to correct and pay for any problems.
“I think they pretty much know what they’re doing,’ Plourde said. “It’s just a matter of getting the finances and process lined up. I’d love to get this nailed down as soon as we can.”
Town Attorney William A. Lee III also approved the contract’s contents.
Orion Ropeworks is looking to close on the property by March 20. Johnny’s Selected Seeds already has a plan in place to knock down the connecting area between the two parts of the building.
“I appreciate the council coming together for this, and I’m glad we could put this to rest,” LaCroix said.
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