Bath Iron Works is selling two residential buildings including a historic house at a cut-rate price, with a big catch for whoever buys the property.
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A house on Maine’s midcoast for only $1? That’s the asking price for not one, but two residential buildings in Bath being sold by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works.
Since posting the offer on Facebook last week, the shipbuilder has received lots of interest from prospective buyers, according to BIW spokeswoman Julie Rabinowitz.
“BIW has received more than two dozen inquiries to date and is hopeful that someone will be willing and able to relocate the house and restore it,” she said.
Indeed, a condition of the sale is that the buyer is required to relocate the structures by Nov. 20, 2027, to a “legally permissible site.”
The property includes the Deering House, which was built around 1900 by prominent local shipbuilder Gardiner G. Deering.
Most recently, the building was used by a contractor to the U.S. Navy to support shipbuilding, Rabinowitz said, adding that it is not being used as BIW office space.
The property is located at 606 Washington St.
Whoever buys the property will be on the hook for all relocation costs, including permits, approvals, licensed structural movers, transportation, site prep, foundations, utilities and related services.
BIW's post underscores that the buyer must verify all zoning, environmental and permitting requirements for the intended relocation sale and assumes all risks related to removal, transport and relocation.
The buyer is also required to provide proof of financial capability and financial capabilities capability, while the seller reserves the right to accept or reject any buyer at its discretion.
Should no one want to take all that on, BIW has a Plan B in mind.
“If, at the end of this process, we have not identified a reasonable way to relocate the building, we will work with the community to preserve the historic elements of the house,” Rabinowitz said.
About BIW
BIW, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), is led by Charles Krugh, who took the helm as the shipyard’s president in 2022. The company recently christened its 43rd guided-missile destroyer, named for Korean War hero William Charette.
