Silky’s Crows Nest property to be placed on auction block

When the owners of the former Silky’s Crows Nest restaurant did not renew their lease with Sharpsburg this year, borough council decided to auction off the restaurant and the nearby public works building, figuring the 3.5- acre site would be ideal for redevelopment.

The properties will be sold at public auction at 1 p. m. Monday, in borough council chambers on Main Street.

The borough- owned property will be auctioned to the highest registered bidder who has obtained a financial guarantee for a minimum of $ 1 million. Bidding will start at $ 600,000. Who buys it and what will be done with it remains to be seen, but the borough has right of refusal on any and all bids.

Talk at meetings throughout the spring has revolved around moving the public works department building and using the proceeds to construct affordable housing elsewhere in the borough.

“We have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” said Bill Rossey, borough manager, at council’s April meeting. “We don’t have to accept the highest bid if we’re not happy with it.”

Matthew Brudnok, council’s finance chairperson, said, “It’s something that needs to be done.”

The auction was chosen after council discussed the only other option available — a land swap. Council President Brittany Reno said a land swap or an auction were the only two options for the borough to dispose of property.

When Mr. Rossey said the land swap would be very difficult to accomplish and might come with additional legal and transparency problems, council chose the auction.

“We cannot swap for anything less than it’s worth,” he explained. “There’s nothing in the borough here that’s worth what that riverfront property is worth.”

Joe Simbari, public works chairperson for council, agreed with Mr. Rossey. “We have to do what’s best for the residents of this community,” he said. “That’s only

going to happen by maximizing what we’re going to get for that property.”

Once Ms. Reno ascertained that the borough could turn down unsuitable bidders, she also agreed. “I want a good community partner,” she said.

One likely bidder may be The Mosites Co., which is attempting to develop 47 acres of riverfront property in Sharpsburg, Millvale and Etna, a project named Riverfront 47. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

Earlier this year, a deal was reached between Mosites and Sharpsburg to keep the access road open to the former Silky’s Marina so boaters could use their docks this summer.

The Lampenfeld brothers, David and Tim, longtime owners and operators of Silky’s Crows Nest, closed the business last fall after several decades of operation.