CARMEL – It’s official: Putnam lawmakers have decided to reject selling a prime piece of Putnam real estate in downtown Carmel to an individual for $600,000 by rescinding resolutions dating back to 2019 authorizing the sale.
During its regular monthly meeting the legislators felt it was in the best interest of the county to retain ownership of the building on 34 Gleneida Avenue that formerly housed Putnam Motors for decades.
Thirty-four Gleneida Avenue is located directly in front of the massive Putnam County Courthouse. When the county assumed ownership, it rented portions of the facility to the non-for-profit United for the Troops in addition to the Service Corps for Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Putnam Economic Development Corp.
In 2019, the legislature authorized the county executive to offer the property for sale through the Multiple Listing Service using the services of a licensed real estate broker.
When discussing the sale, Legislator Jake D’Angelo called the property “very sacred” in the current economy because it sits on Carmel’s main thoroughfare across from Lake Gleneida.
D’Angelo noted, “I’d like to see us keep this — not leaving it be but potentially doing something that could give back to the community.”
Legislature Chair Dan Birmingham suggested demolishing the building and turning the property into a public park.
Legislator Bill Gouldman has invited Department of Public Works officials and representatives of the executive branch of county government to this month’s meeting of the legislature’s Physical Services Committee to discuss the building’s future.
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