Perhaps “Dutch auction” was the term I was looking for.
My recollection of figures were off a little:
$80-Million Wang Complex Sells for $525,000
Feb. 17, 1994 12 AM PT
From Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Mass. —
Wang Laboratories Inc.’s $80-million office complex in Lowell has been sold at auction for a mere $525,000.
Buyer Lou Pellegrine refused to say whom he represented or what is planned for the three 14-story buildings.
Four bidders registered for the sale, plunking down $100,000 for the right to take part.
“We’re not disappointed. This was how much the property was worth today. The market establishes the value,” said Frank J. Ryan, vice president for corporation communications for Wang.
The complex cost about $80 million to build but is now assessed at $20 million, Lowell Assessor Sean McFadden said.
Also from the Lowell Sun article:
Remember when – Wang Towers were built?
By Chris Tierney |
PUBLISHED: January 26, 2018 at 12:00 a.m. | UPDATED: July 11, 2019 at 12:00 a.m.
In case you missed it, the Cross Point Towers were sold again this week, this time for $227 million to CrossHarbor Capital Partners, a commercial real-estate firm with an office in Boston. The local landmark, which was once world corporate headquarters of Wang Laboratories, is the third-tallest building in Lowell, after Three River Place and the Kenneth R. Fox Student Union. The property is made up of one 13-story tower and two 12-story structures, totaling more than 1,200,000 square feet, and is situated on 15 acres on Chelmsford Street at Industrial Avenue, and dominates the skyline at the juncture of the Lowell Connector, Route 3 and Interstate 495.
Originally built under the direction of Wang Laboratories founder An Wang, the towers were constructed in stages during the 1980s at a cost of $60 million (about $152 million in current dollars), and were once the crown jewel of Wang. But by 1991, Wang’s fortunes had declined, and the company declared bankruptcy, with its lender taking over and selling the property in 1994 at auction for just $525,000 (about $867,000 in today’s dollars) to the firm Insight Partners. That year, the city gave Cross Point a property-tax break and a $4 million line of credit, but Insight Partners sold the property in 1998, after renovating it, for $110 million, according to The Sun archives. Over the years, the premier property has changed hands multiple times, each time being a concern to the city because of potential tax revenue and jobs.