Former Southampton Post Office To Be Auctioned Off Online

The former home of the Southampton Post Office is once again on the market, with the property’s owner set to solicit bids for the vacant building in an auction scheduled for this week.

The 6,748-square-foot brick building and 20-space parking lot on Nugent Street have been on the market for several years, and they will be put to bid on Auction.com from August 11 to 13. The property is the first commercial one on the East End to be on the website’s bidding block. Bidding will start with a minimum of $750,000, although the property is expected to sell for a price closer to $4 million.

This week, property owner Norman Bobrow said that he has high hopes for the sale, explaining that he auctioned another property on the website and is under no obligation to accept the winning bid if it does not meet an undisclosed asking price. Mr. Bobrow said that the last few hours of the auction should be interesting, and that over 700 people have already viewed the listing on the website, with more than a dozen registering to participate in the bidding and anteing up significant deposits.

“The building is in Southampton and is in walking distance to everything, so when it rains there are a lot of business opportunities in the village,” Mr. Bobrow said. “I am really excited by how many people have clicked the site, so a lot of people are looking into it, but who knows how much it will go for.”

Built in 1960, the property was purchased by Mr. Bobrow’s father, Louis Bobrow, in 1975 when it housed the Southampton Village Post Office. Seeking more space, the Postal Service decamped to a new, 8,000-square-foot facility on North Sea Road in 2009. The old building passed into the younger Mr. Bobrow’s hands, and it has been on the market since November 2011 after failing to attract a tenant. The almost half-acre property is nestled among financial institutions on what Mr. Bobrow calls “Bank Row.”

After using it to sell a property in Georgia last year, Mr. Bobrow, who lives in Queens, decided to give Auction.com a go with the former post office.

According to its website, Auction.com is the nation’s leading online real estate marketplace, having sold roughly $26 billion worth of property, including luxury homes, office buildings, foreclosed homes and storage facilities.

While Mr. Bobrow acknowledges that the building could use a facelift, he says it is a great space, with high ceilings and close to Main Street, and would be perfect for a retail store, bank or market. The property is zoned for use as a retail business or for office space.

“There has never been a unique location like this that has come up recently,” Mr. Bobrow said. “I see this location for what it is, and it can really be a beautiful destination store or showroom for a major builder in the Hamptons.”

Further details are available at Auction.com. Those wishing to place a bid must register with the site before the auction starts on August 11. Paperwork verifying interest in the property must be signed, and a $10,000 deposit must be authorized to participate. If the bidder does not win, the deposit will be returned. The winning bidder will be notified on August 13.