Last Minute Bidding Delays Auction End
By Sue Clark on Aug 20, 2007 in Lighthouses For Sale 
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A bidding war at the last minute caused a delay to the scheduled end of the General Services Administration (GSA) auction of Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse in Delaware. Lighthouse News last checked the auction site on August 17, and bids were at $105,000USD. Since then, a new contender in the bidding war showed up, and current top bid is $115,000USD, offered up by someone identifying themselves as ocm. The site states the auction was extended until August 21 because of website technical difficulties, but according to this story in the News Journal of Wilmington Delaware, the bidding was extended due to the high rate of last minute activity. According to the story:
The auction was supposed to end at 2 p.m. Friday, but a flurry of bids through the morning and early afternoon resulted in the auction being extended for one business day. The auction now is set to end at 2 p.m. today, although if the bidding continues it could be extended for yet another day.
Apparently it has been extended, since the listed closing time is set for August 21, rather than August 20.
Fouteen Foot Bank Lighthouse is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, so it’s unclear what someone purchasing it will do with it, as one of the directives require it to be maintained according to historical significance. It sits three miles offshore of Bower Beach in Delaware Bay, and is accessible only by boat. It does not lend itself to a bed and breakfast, for sure. It also is an active aid to navigation, and will need to allow access to the Coast Guard. Other disadvantages includ no electricity or running water, and it is illegal to use the privy, which is directly open to the sea (pictured on the right in the photo below). The waters and land below it are not included in the sale (it’s state property), so any permanent dockage the owner intends to put in will have to go through a permitting process. Lead paint, asbestos and roosting sea birds compound the problems.
If the planned use is for a private, seaside residence, the owner may have to contend with the same problems some keepers in the past have dealt with. Although the new owner certainly won’t be required to stay there, which led to one depressed keeper committing suicide by drinking carbolic acid, there are other riskes, such as the ice floes in the winter of 1917-1918 which left keeper Chester P. Joseph and another man stranded at the lighthouse for three months. Of course, it would be unusual for someone to be out there in the winter.
The buyer’s name will be made public by the GSA when they’ve received the money, and perhaps the buyer will reveal his or her plans at that time. I’m curious what they will be, especially due to the price at this point. What do you think? If you bought this lighthouse, what would your plans be? Let us know by leaving a comment.
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August 21st, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Hi Sue,
The close of the auction has been extended another day to Wednesday Aug 22 after someone bid $125,000. Looks like a few people desperately want to own this Lighthouse!
August 21st, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Thanks for posting, Debbie.
And it’s now up to $130,000. I really hope whoever gets it treats it with the respect that it deserves. I really am curious how this will end up. I’d hate to see what happened to Squirrel Point Light in Maine happen to this one, where the owner couldn’t afford to keep it up and tried to sell it. The goverment got that one back, however. That was a little different, though, since he represented himself as a non-profit.
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Looks like a flown blown Bidding Battle is keeping this bizarre auction alive!
The Latest Bid of $150,000 extends the hopes of desperate bidders one more day to Aug 24, 2007.