Auction of Williamstown's Orchards Hotel Postponed to February

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The real estate auction of a closed Main Street hotel again was postponed late Tuesday, fewer than 24 hours before the scheduled sale.
 
The 49-room Orchards Hotel has been closed since March 2020 and did not reopen for business after the economy restarted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Boston's Daniel P. McLaughlin and Co. Auctioneers has advertised public auctions several times starting in the summer of 2021.
 
The most recent, for Wednesday at 10 a.m., still was on the auctioneers' website at midday Tuesday. But currently, the auction is listed as being rescheduled to Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m., at 206 Adams Road; the Orchards' 2.7-acre property lies between Main Street (Route 2) and Adams Road.
 
Attempts to reach the Boston auctioneer on Wednesday morning were unsuccessful. The office phone number listed on its website is out of service.
 
According to the advertisement for the auction, the Orchards property includes a 32,000 square foot building and a full service restaurant and gym.
 
The property has an assessed value of $1.857 million, according to the town's fiscal 2023 tax roll.
 
The terms for the auction listed on the McLaughlin website indicate that the successful bidder at auction will be required to deliver a $25,000, non-refundable deposit at the conclusion of the auction and that "all sales are final."
 
A March 2021 article in the Williams College student newspaper reported that the school had an interest in acquiring the defunct hotel property for the purpose of adding to its faculty housing stock. A college administrator told the Williams Record at the time that the owner of the hotel had "every intention" of reopening as a hotel.
 
Lender MountainOne Bank filed a foreclosure notice against HCC Orchards LLC in spring 2021.

Tags: auction,   motels, hotels,   

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Local Man Wins Auction for Williamstown Parcel

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town of Williamstown auctioned a quarter-acre parcel on Wednesday.

Four bidders came to the auction to bid on the 0.264-acre property on Harrison Avenue.

The bidding started at $14,450, and the winning bid was $40,000 by Williamstown resident Gerard Smith, who is not sure what he will do with the property yet, but plans to clear the wooded lot first.

"My intention would be to make improvements to the property. And I'm not sure what the scope of those improvements are just yet, but the market will tell me," Smith said.

Smith said he usually purchases properties and adds value to them.

The auction was held at Town Hall by Berkshire Auctions owner James Dalton. The auction winner was required to post a $5,000 down payment.

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