GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- Tentative bids were accepted for three former Sinclair gas stations in Great Falls, Mont., and one each in Helena and Lewistown, Mont., at a lively auction Tuesday at the Great Falls Hampton Inn, according to a report in the Great Falls Tribune.
The five bids, totaling $550,000, are subject to confirmation by Salt Lake City-based Sinclair Oil Corp., which owns the stations.
No bids were made for two other Sinclair properties in Great Falls, one an operating gas station/convenience store and the other [image-nocss] a building now leased to Smokers Express.
An official with the Higgenbotham Auctioneers, which ran the auction, said an interested party began discussions after the auction for the operating gas station. Sinclair required that the winning bidder on that property make $77,000 in upgrades to the station and sell only Sinclair-branded products.
The winning bids were:
$175,000 for an inactive Sinclair station in Helena. Winning bidder Rich Leitgeb of Helena said he owns a Taco Treat restaurant next door and plans to use the new property either for parking or to expand his existing operations.
$135,000 for a former station in Lewistown now leased to another business. Tom Wojtowick of Lewistown made the bid on behalf of the Lewistown Library Board and Creel Funeral Home. They will split the cost, remove a canopy and share the property for parking, he said.
$115,000 for a former station in Great Falls. Winning bidder Dave Pierce of Pierce's Superstores said he felt that was "a fair price" for the 2,200-square-foot property. Pierce said he probably would use the property for "an automotive-related purpose," such as a car wash or quick-lube shop.
$65,000 for a vacant commercial building in Great Falls. Auto dealer Dan Bleskin made the bid for his father Pete and family. He said they're not sure yet what they'll do with the property.
$60,000 for another vacant commercial building in Great Falls. The winning bidder declined to identify himself to the newspaper.
Sinclair Oil Corp. officials have said they are getting out of the retail gas business in Montana by auctioning off nine gas station/convenience stores in Montana and four in Idaho. Separate auctions were planned for stores in Kalispell and Bozeman. The move affects only stations owned by Sinclair, not a number of independently owned stations in Montana.
Real estate broker Jim Voegele told the newspaper he was surprised at how low the Great Falls property sold for. He said some potential bidders told him they were unfamiliar with "the high bidder's choice" method that was used on the first Great Falls properties and therefore didn't bid. Under that method, the high bidder could choose which of the four properties he or she wanted to buy at that price, with the process then starting over for the remaining properties.
Auctioneer Marty Higgenbotham tried his best to spur the bidding. At one point when bidding stalled at $65,000 he quipped that some pick-up trucks cost that much.
In other real estate news, a CITGO station owned by Stewarts Shops in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is now for sale. Tom Lewis, real estate representative for Stewart's Shops, told The Saratogian the full-service gas station just recently closed. Stewart's has owned the 0.277 acre lot for almost two years.
Lewis said Stewart's invested a lot into improving the property. We'll sell to anyone who is interested, Lewis said.
The asking price will be around $795,000.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.