For sale: A used U.S.-Canada border crossing goes on the auction block

The U.S. government is selling a former border crossing facility in Madawaska, Maine, across from Edmunston, New Brunswick.

An online auction for the property starts on Wednesday, Aug. 20. The asking price is US$25,000.

Bidding for the old Port of Entry (POE) will increase in $1,000 increments, says the U.S. General Services Administration in a press release about the sale. (The GSA is the U.S. government’s shared services arm, managing a real estate portfolio of over 360 million rentable square feet.)

The almost one-acre property is located along the Saint John River. The intention behind the sale seems to be for a buyer to simply convert it into a local business.

While the commercial space listing has primarily been used as an office, the real estate ad suggests other potential purposes: m anufacturing, warehouse, storage facility, garage/shop.

“GSA is transforming an underutilized border facility into an opportunity for community and economic development,” said Public Buildings Service Regional Commissioner Glenn C. Rotondo in the release.

The first floor of the building is 2,900 square feet. There is also a 2,900 square foot finished basement.

The southern portion of the property is flat, paved and has a one-storey brick building with two canopies, a guard shack and shed for a generator.

The northern half of the property is on a floodplain and can’t be built upon. Instead, it consists of a steep, wooded slope leading from a retaining wall down approximately 50 feet to the water line of the Saint John River. The river surrounds the northern edge of the property. A paper mill with a rail line is situated on the other perimeters.

The 1959 facility was closed last year when U.S. Customs and Border Protection ceased operations there and relocated to the new Madawaska POE and International Bridge. The new facility will include room for increases in traffic. The new facility, worth roughly $73 million, is also aiming to be include administrative offices and training space.

Parts of the old bridge were saved by the town, according to Maine newspaper The County . A local artist pitched a plan to create a 20-foot sculpture of an Acadian star out of materials from the bridge to celebrate the Francophone cultural connection shared by the two countries, across the old bridge created.

Acadians are descendants of French settlers who originally settled in Canada’s Maritime Provinces in the 17th and 18th centuries. Aroostook County later became a hub of Acadian culture , with a large population still maintaining their heritage.

The invitation for bids and additional information about the property can be found on the auction webpage . Only registered bidders will be allowed to inspect the property by appointment.

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