Minden Gateway property sold back to beneficiary

One of the most ideally located commercial sites in Minden had no outside bidders at a public auction on Wednesday.

Approximately 11 acres at the intersection of highways 395 and 88, known collectively as the Minden Gateway Center, were sold back to beneficiary California National Bank for a low bid of about $2.15 million.

There have been some developers interested in the defaulted, weed-plagued property, some who attended an earlier auction in April that was postponed, yet no one made a bid on Wednesday.

According to a notice of trustee's sale, the amount owed on the six parcels totals about $7.64 million.

Approved in 2007, plans for the Minden Gateway Center called for nearly 200,000 square feet of commercial space with an anchor grocery store, pharmacy, restaurant, and retail and office complexes.

With the exception of the Holiday Inn Express that successfully opened on the east side of the property last year, the defunct Minden Gateway Center has come to represent the recession in many ways.

Once boasting a long list of potential tenants, including mention of an Olive Garden, the project was slowly pulled down by a sinking real estate market and an even longer list of liens.

Last spring, Minden Gateway Center, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving the property vacant and infrastructure unfinished.

The following autumn, when weeds had taken over the area, the Town of Minden teamed up with Douglas County and state and federal agencies to clean the site.

n Scott Neuffer can be reached at sneuffer@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 217.