Chamber of Commerce Opts Not to Submit Bid on Verizon Building

The Chamber of Commerce did not submit a bid to purchase the Teaneck Road Verizon building and has no future plans to purchase a building to create a cultural arts center, Chamber President Larry Bauer said.

The potential bid from the Chamber fell through because they could not find the required minimum $2.5 million by the time bids were due, Bauer said. Any bid under $2.5 million would be thrown out.

“There were so many perfect opportunities – yes it would have been a risk bit it would have been one with positive results,” Bauer said.

Days before the bid was due, Puffin Foundation President Perry Rosenstein also started exploring other possible options for the the arts center. Rosenstein and his wife, Gladys, announced in October they would donate $500,000 towards a cultural arts center.

The Chamber's decision to look at the Verizon building came after the first choice for the cultural arts center, the Givaudan building on Windsor Road, was under contract and already expected to be sold in January. Tom Reilly, the broker with Jones Lang LaSalle, did not return calls about whether or not the sale went through.

The Verizon building became the new potential location for the center in December. Bids were due to purchase the building in a sealed-bid process Jan. 26.

The Verizon building's broker, John Stravitz of BIOC Real Estate, declined to comment on the exact number of bids that were submitted, but did say there were "multiple bids."

Since Verizon has 30 days to either reject or select a bid, Stravitz predicts that a decision will be made within the next two to three weeks.

"We cannot provide comment at this time since negotiations are in progress with a potential bidder," said Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski.