WHITMAN – Peaceful Meadows is slated to go under the auctioneer’s gavel for sale on Tuesday, Aug. 29 – and that prospect has been the talk of the town, and beyond for several days.
Real estate sales firm JJ Manning Auctioneers of Yarmouthport, has been contracted to hold an auction of properties owned by Peaceful Meadows along Route 18/Bedford Street in Whitman. The properties are at 67, 81 and 94 (lots 1 and 2) Bedford St.
“After many successful decades in business, beginning in 1962, the family has chosen to divest of these valuable assets through auction,” the firm’s website described the reason for the sale, further stating that the properties will be “offered individually and in the entirety to the highest bidder, regardless of price.”
JJ Manning President Justin J. Manning, said no other property the firm has handled before has engendered so much interest.
“I’ve never seen our Facebook [page] blow up like I have with this property,” he said. “I think between Friday and right now, we’ve had more than 350,000 hits on this. It’s absurd. It dwarfs anything that we’ve ever listed – there’s a lot of passion about this one.”
Two others running close behind were Foxboro State Hospital and a Nashua, N.H. rectory of the Sisters of Mercy.
Manning said he met with the three sisters who are the owners/decision makers of the property.
“At this point, they have worked really hard to continue the legacy that their parents started, and have been very proud of and have done well by it and [they] understand the following that has continued to provide a nice living for their family,” Manning said. “At this stage in their lives, they’re all very ready to move on. No one wants to continue running the business and [they] have other life expectations at the moment.”
Select Board members Justin Evans and Dan Salvucci said, while they didn’t know the particulars of the sale, Whitman’s Facebook pages have been filled with conversation about it all weekend.
“They want to retire,” Salvucci said. “That’s a lot of land down behind there.”
Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter recalled that her first job was at Peaceful Meadows, but stated that the town has not received official notice of the sale.
“Once the Town receives official notification of the impending sale of the properties it will review and consider its options,” Carter said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “We are so sorry to see Peaceful Meadows close and we thank them for the many years they have operated their business here in town.”
Carter said the assessor was visiting Peaceful Meadows on Monday, because it is agricultural land and the town wants to make sure it is coded correctly.
“Peaceful Meadows Farm has been a Whitman landmark since 1920, with the Hogg family opening Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream in 1962. The news of the upcoming auction of the multiple Peaceful Meadows properties in late August has been a topic of conversation among residents since the news was announced,” Carter stated. “The Hogg family has provided delicious ice cream treats as well as many other dairy products and baked goods which have been sold at their dairy store. Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream has been an iconic family destination for so many Whitman residents as well as residents from many surrounding towns. The Town has not received any formal notification since the news was announced late last week.”
The land is described as: “four assessor’s parcels on Bedford St. (Rt. 18)
Sale 1: 94 Bedford St. (Lot 1): Ice Cream Stand k/a “Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream” w/ barns, home/offices, Equipment;
Sale 2: 94 Bedford St. (Lot 2): 55+/- acres of agricultural land;
Sale 3: 67 Bedford St.:a single family home; and
Sale 4: 81 Bedford St.: a two-family home.
A final plan concerning how the property components will be sold will be forthcoming, but Manning said there are, indeed, four components.
“It’s too early right now for me to tell you exactly how it is going to happen, but I can tell you that there will be at least four rounds of bidding for those four different components,” he said, indicating there is a possibility of combinations of properties.
The website stipulates that pre-auction offers must be tendered on a signed JJManning approved purchase and sale agreement and accompanied by a 10 percent certified deposit in certified or bank check or by confirmed wire transfer in order to be considered.
Up to a 2 percent Buyer’s Broker Commission is offered with a mandatory 24-hour broker pre-registration.
A viewing date of the properties up for auction is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 22 with the auction slated for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Manning said that some sales use the term “highest and best” for choosing a buyer.
“In auctions, there’s only highest,” he said. “Ultimately, everyone is bidding under the same terms, everyone is bidding using the same purchase and sale agreement, so it only comes down to who’s the highest.”
He did say interest has been strong already, with similar ice cream companies, agricultural companies showing intertest since the posting on June 6 or 7.
“For those who have been hoping it will continue on as Peaceful Meadows ice cream, that’s only going to apply if the high bidder has that intent,” Manning said. Buyers who have a kennel, equestrian or landscaping-related business would be free to make their own business decisions after purchasing the property.
The ice cream stand/dairy farm are only one component of the sale.
“It depends on who is the high bidder, and it could be a different type of business,” he said.
Manning said his firm has a “basic outline” for how the sale will happen and they are working with the sellers’ attorneys to make sure everything is done properly.
“When a property’s been in the hands of a family for so long, it’s almost like it has no history,” he said. He likened such a situation to the sales they had handled of Lakeville and Foxboro state hospitals, where deeds were hand-written.
“You just want to make sure there’s nothing that’s going to interfere with having a clean, straight-forward closing and clear title,” he said. Then further information may become clear. There may be financials regarding the ice cream shop that will be available to potential buyers willing to fill out and sign non-disclosure agreements.
He said that he understands there is also a recorded subdivision plan that is expected to show how the ice cream shop and dairy barn are divided from the 50+ agricultural acres.
“This is just some pieces that we don’t have,” he said. When more information is available, it will be posted on jjmanning.com.
JJManning Auctioneers has been engaged in the marketing and sale of high-end commercial and residential real estate at public auction throughout the U.S., with a focus on New England. During this period, the firm has conducted over 16,000 auctions totaling more than $5 billion dollars for private individuals, corporations, estates, financial institutions, attorneys, builders/developers, government agencies and others.