MADAWASKA, Maine – An auction for a former Madawaska Land Port of Entry building is back up after what ended up being the longest government shutdown in United States history.
The auction originally opened in August, but temporarily closed when the federal shutdown started on Oct. 1. With the government reopened, the auction’s new bid deadline is Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 9 a.m.
The number of bidders, and their bids, are going up.
Bids for the former border station started at $25,000, but the highest bid on Friday was more than twice that amount at $52,050. As of Friday, there have been 18 bids on the property, according to the General Services Administration’s listing page.
The northern Maine border town last year received a new land port of entry and a new international bridge connecting it to Edmundston, New Brunswick.
The bridge project began more than two decades ago when officials in the United States and Canada deemed the former bridge, nearly a century old, unsafe. The new port of entry project began at roughly the same time, when federal officials said the old facility, built in 1959, could not be expanded to meet the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s needs.
The new border crossing and port of entry officially opened last August with a ceremony featuring officials from both sides of the border, including U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins as well as U.S. Rep. Jared Golden.
The property is roughly 0.9 acres and located along the St. John River at 63 Bridge Avenue. The brick building is a total of 5,800 square feet with 2,900 square feet on the ground floor and 2,900 in its basement. It has two canopies, a guard shack and a shed for its generator.
The northern half of the property is in the floodplain and non-buildable, according to the government listing.
The U.S. General Services Administration, in a press release first announcing the auction, stated that the auction represents a commitment to taxpayers by reducing spending by being responsible with public assets.
“This auction represents our ongoing commitment to maximize value for hardworking American taxpayers while responsibly divesting government real estate that no longer serves its original purpose,” Public Buildings Service Regional Commissioner Glenn C. Rotondo said in the release.
News of the auction has spread beyond Maine, with announcements in such publications as Toronto’s National Post and Britain’s Daily Mail.