Same Buyer Again Submits Sole Bid for Sain Building

After going back on the market at the insistence of the majority of the County Legislature, the same lone $4.51 million bid was received for the sale of the Sain Building, coming from a company named National Development.

The Massachusetts-based firm had previously said it wanted to buy the county-owned building on New Hempstead Rd. in New City and create senior housing. The Legislature rejected the offer and put the sale out to big again, which prompted County Executive Ed Day to enforce austerity measures to make up the $4.51 million gap in the budget.

“It is very hard to understand what the Legislature achieved by playing this game except for delaying the sale, forcing the county into austerity and just about guaranteeing that Rockland will end the year with a budget deficit,” County Executive Day said. “The taxpayers of Rockland deserve better.”

The bid is currently being reviewed by Rockland County Attorney Thomas Humbach to see if it satisfies legal requirements.

Humbach noted that there is no down payment included with the bid as required. The company has indicated that it does not want to comply with the terms set in the bid specifications by the Legislature and would rather follow the original terms.
Day proposed the sale of the dilapidated office building nearly one year ago when he submitted his 2015 budget proposal to the Legislature.

The legislature approved the budget, which counted on $4 million from the sale to make ends meet.

National Development in March responded to an advertisement for the sale, offering to pay $4.51 million – $510,000 above the appraised value. The Legislature said they were unaware that housing was an option for the space and thus wanted to see if the property could attract a higher bid.

Day wants to relocate county employees from the Sain Building to Building A in the Pomona complex.