Fire sale: Retired Martin County fire station, other properties up for auction next week.

STUART — With two auctions done and two more next week, Martin County has begun its first selloff of county-owned real estate in 25 years.

At an auction late Wednesday afternoon in the Yacht & Country Club of Stuart, two lots of about one-third acre each were auctioned for a total of $160,600, including the customary 10% buyer’s premium.

Next on the list of properties to be sold is a former fire station in Jensen Beach, which has been rezoned for commercial use.

The fire station, off Savannah Road at 1250 N.E. Samaritan St., is to be sold to the highest bidder at noon, Tuesday.

The 3,390-square-foot building, built in 1976, has four rollup doors and is on property that recently was rezoned to limited commercial.

The property has a market value of $187,940, according to the Property Appraiser’s Office.

While no taxes are owed for the properties for 2019, because they were owned by Martin County, the county is eager to get them on the tax rolls for next year.

More: Oceanfront mansion being sold at auction

“There’s really no reason (Martin County) should own these lots,” said Elliot Paul, the Stuart-based auctioneer who has contracted with the county to auction off these lots and more in the future.

The county acquired the Yacht & County Club lots when it took over the development’s water service and removed the pumping station, he said.

The retired fire station, he said, has drawn the most interest among the six lots being sold in the four auctions.

Those interested in bidding on the fire station building must bring a $25,000 cashier’s check, payable to themselves, to the auction,which is being held on the property.

The high bidder can apply that check toward the 10% deposit required after the auction.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the last of the four auctions will sell two mobile-home lots in the Northwood neighborhood off Green River Parkway between Jensen Beach Boulevard and Baker Road.

That auction will be conducted on the 75-by-100-foot lot at the corner of Northeast 17th Street and Green River Parkway. The other lot, 60-by-128 feet, is at 2 N.E. 15th Terrace.

Outbidding 10 others for both of the Yacht & Country Club lots sold Wednesday was Jeremy Lemaster, president and founder of Palm City-based Medalist Building Group LLC, a design-build construction company established in 2007.

Lemaster’s wife, Jessica — his Realtor with Keller Williams — said Medalist is conducting market research to determine the optimum approach to building on the two lots, one of which is one-third acre and the other slightly smaller.

“I don’t foresee it (the homes on each lot) being smaller than four bedrooms with three baths,” she said.

Jessica Lemaster said Medalist doesn’t like to hold onto to inventory of buildable lots for long, so she expects the company would build houses within a year if no buyer contracts for a build-to-suit deal.

Ken Ringe, a builder and former Yacht & Country Club resident, said Medalist got a good price for great lots, and should be able to save on some design and construction costs by building on adjoining lots.

Homes in the development, he said, range from about $500,000 to $1.5 million, with the more expensive on a canal with ocean access.

The lot sold Tuesday, on Southwest Century Way in Stuart’s River Forest section, was bought for $41,250 by a couple who purchased a four-bedroom home on an adjacent lot in the cul-de-sac in 2010.

Nickolas Brandt and his wife, Crystal, will use the space as a playground for their three children while they consider installing an in-ground pool, Crystal Brandt said.

For more information on the auctions, go to www.elliotpaul.com.