AUBURN — A deal to sell the vacant police station at 1 Minot Ave. to Chinese investors goes to city councilors Monday for a vote.
Councilors will vote on a $500,000 sales agreement with Miracle Enterprises LLC at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14. Councilors reviewed the agreement Tuesday.
“This is a tax-exempt property now that was yielding no revenue for the citizens,” Economic Development Director Roland Miller said. “It will be fully taxable now, generating revenue for the city. It’s clear that if we can turn this into a revenue asset and have it continuously on the tax rolls as a productive, contributing property, it will be good for everyone.”
The Maine company backed by investors from China plans to make the building part of its four-star medical tourism complex. Investors from the Guo Tou Sheng Tong Investment Co. LTD and Beijing HongYu Investments and Developments Co. LTD created a Maine corporation, Miracle Enterprise LLC, in June.
That Maine corporation purchased the Lunn and Sweet building at 67 Minot Ave. on July 30, along with the neighboring 81 Minot Ave. lot.
The group announced plans for the medical tourism destination Aug. 4, along with agreements with Central Maine Medical Center and a clearinghouse that connects Chinese patients with doctors around the world.
The $40 million development would cater to wealthy Chinese patients seeking American medical treatments.
“They need areas to potentially expand the project at some point and they want to plan ahead for that,” Miller said. “It’s the same process any business goes through. You can never plan for just right now. You have to look to the future and your goals. This group is very savvy and very thoughtful and they have looked at their long-term future.”
The former police station sits on 1.2 acres. The first floor is 7,504 square feet, the basement is 5,560 square feet and an attached garage is 2,304 square feet. Miller said the basement was moldy, but city crews removed the walls and all mold.
Auburn Police moved out of the building in February 2011 and the city began marketing it to investors.
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