GILROY
– It was “Going once, going twice,” and the Indian Motorcycle
factory and property on Tenth Street was sold to a Hollister
developer and vineyard owner for $3.35 million.
GILROY – It was “Going once, going twice,” and the Indian Motorcycle factory and property on Tenth Street was sold to a Hollister developer and vineyard owner for $3.35 million.
After signing the papers to seal the deal, Ken Gimelli told reporters he planned to rent the building to anyone who is interested. He had no particular tenants in mind, he said, and none had approached him.
Gimelli said he would be open to a new Indian Motorcycle owner occupying the space, but he would not play a role in encouraging a new owner to build bikes in Gilroy. Gimelli entered the only bid from the floor in an auction for the single piece of real estate Wednesday afternoon at the Historic Strand Theater, in downtown Gilroy.
“I think it’s a buy,” was Gimelli’s only comment afterward.
The only other bid was a written submission for $3.3 million – the “absolute minimum” the auctioneers were willing to accept to clear liens on the property.
Gimelli is an industrial developer in Hollister and owns a portion of the Hollister Business Park. He also owns Gimelli Vineyards in the Hollister area, which sells grapes to large-scale wine maker Kendall-Jackson.
Meanwhile on Wednes-day, at the 200 E. Tenth St. factory Gimelli bought, Michigan retail liquidator Bill Melvin opened a piecemeal sale of the building’s contents, which he now owns: from gaskets to gas tanks, computers to clothing.
Crowds greeted Melvin and his staff, starting more than an hour and a half before the sale’s 9:30 a.m. opening.
By noon, people were still waiting in lines for more than a half-hour to negotiate prices and pay for the things they wanted. Some pushed racks of fenders and wheels. Others bought tools or industrial equipment.
Melvin pulled many items from the sale between Monday’s viewing and Wednesday, including nearly 60 motorcycles and any equipment he thought might be needed if someone tries to restart Indian motorcycle production in Gilroy. Melvin is one of several parties trying to do this.
First, he would have to buy Indian’s collections of trademarks and logos. Officials at Indian and its liquidation broker, the Credit Managers Association of California, say they expect to sell the trademarks sometime in February.
About a dozen people were present at the Strand Theater for the property auction.
Conspicuously absent were Melvin and Rey Sotelo, who are leading investment groups committed to buying the Indian brand and restarting motorcycle production in Gilroy.
The 200 E. Tenth St. property consists of a 154,000-square-foot factory on a 274,000-square-foot lot.
Gimelli bought it from the Credit Managers Association of California, to which the motorcycle maker assigned the property.
