Scuttled Sale of Danbury's 13 Acres Almost a Relief

It seems straight forward enough.

The city asked for a 10 percent deposit by April 1 on the sale of 13 acres for $3 million. When it didn't arrive, the city canceled that deal for non-performance, and put the property out to bid Wednesday with an April 25 deadline for bids.

"I don't know if relief is the actual word," said City Council President Joe Cavo. "It lets us out of that deal. It kind of puts that chapter behind us."

Boughton said in his budget address the developer failed to meet the sales conditions, which included making the 10 percent deposit. That freed the city to seek another buyer.

"We'll go through the process," Boughton said, meaning an open bidding process to sell the land. "As soon as we have a prospective bidder, I'll bring it before this council."

Democrats had agrued against the sale for several reasons. Those include the goal of saving the land for a future city use, such as a school. Another reason was to preserve it for open space. A third reason to oppose the sale was raised by Democrats who learned the developer had previously been sued by partners in other business deals. See related story.

Our regular commentator, Bordwbs wrote, "

Boughton scurried so quickly backwards on this deal that it's stink continues to envelope him. How surprising to see Republicans looking so uncomfortable as they voted to approve a sale that was literally jammed down their throats last month. And what luck that the Democrats actually were awake on this issue.

So what's the rush to get another bidder by April 25th, less than three weeks away?

Is the "next favorite developer" going to be a longtime Boughton contributor, or is the rush to sell more about budget paranoia created by Boughton himself?

I suppose the process will still have some veils that will need to be lifted, but the underlying question remains; Is this the best deal for Danbury? Or for Boughton's career?
It's our land, and our money he's playing fast and loose with, Why???

We want to get the land back on the tax rolls, Boughton said, plus he wants to encourage growth, and other developers have already approached the city about buying it.

"We've had a show of interest," Boughton said.