Auburn tentatively reaches $4M deal to buy Chuck’s Steakhouse for new fire station
Photo | Courtesy of Chuck's Steak House
Chuck's Steak House & Margarita Grill in Auburn
A prominent steakhouse in Auburn could be transformed into the town’s newest firehouse, after the Town’s Board of Selectmen moved on Monday to unanimously support a letter of intent to purchase 10 Prospect St., the site of Chuck’s Steakhouse and Margarita Grill Mexican Cantina.
Steve Londregan, the co-owner of Chuck’s, made the news public in September that the business was looking to sell their building at 10 Prospect St. and move to a new location, saying the 60-year-old building and the property it sits on is much larger than what the business needs. The owners of Chuck’s were working with Worcester broker Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates and Webster-based developer Galaxy Development to facilitate the requests for proposals.
Speaking at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, Auburn Town Manager Edward Kazanovicz said the owners of Chuck’s did not accept any of the bids they received for the property, putting the Town in a position where it could make an offer, resulting in Auburn purchasing the property to construct a new firehouse at the location.
The town received an appraisal for the property of $3.9 million, Kazanovicz said. The owners were seeking $5.9 million, with a minimum bid of $4.9 million, but the town made an initial offer of $3.7 million. The owners of Chuck’s responded with an offer of $4.25 million, with the parties eventually agreeing on a price of $4.05 million.
“We plan on coming with a funding plan at [the next selectmen] meeting, that would identify some funds that would allow us to purchase the property outright without seeking any bond proceeds to fund that acquisition cost," Kazanovicz said.
The deal would be contingent on approval at a special Town Meeting slated for January.
In a Facebook post made on Tuesday, the Auburn Fire Department expressed support for the proposal.
“The Select Board, Town Administration and the department are very excited about the potential to acquire this parcel for a new fire station,” the post said. “This site will allow the school department to continue to operate at the West St. location without interruption and eliminate the need for any partial demolition of the building to make way for a new fire station.”
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