5:48 PM: Christine MacDonald of the Detroit News reports the mystery bidder is Jill Van Horn of Ennis, Texas, who was previously unknown to county officials.
A Jill Van Horn of Ennis, Texas, left, is a family physician, who says she enjoys gardening, fishing, and traveling and animals, and she and her family currently have seven cats and four dogs, and hope to soon have chickens and goats.
5:15 PM: The bidding war for the Packard Plant has officially ended.
Mystery bidder #12196 wins Detroit's toxic trash pile for $6,038,000.
See a Drone Cam view of the $6 Million Ruin by clicking here.
4:47 PM: Well that happened fast.
Bidding has now reached the insane number of $6,021,000 and is still rising.
In 44 bids, the price jumped from $601,000 to over $6 million.
If/when the bidder realizes that $6 million is a lot of money, the bidder can choose to back off from the financial grandstand. Then, Wayne County may choose to offer the building to next highest bidder, as it has done with other properties.
In this case, the bidder backing out would lose the deposit required to bid, but will not have any other financial obligations.
If a bidder does pay up, they are required to secure the property.
The county does not release names of the bidders.
3:45 PM: Someone could be the proud new owner of the Packard Plant for $601,000... or more.
Bidding for the crumbling hulk ends this evening and the price has been shooting up throughout the day.
As of 3:45 PM, 67 people bid on the Packard Plant in the Wayne County Tax Auction. The highest bid sits at $601,000, which is $125,000 higher than the price just 45 minutes ago.
The auction is set to end at 4:45 PM, but will continue if parties keep placing rapid bids.
The Packard Plant went to auction after developer Bill Hults dropped his plans to purchase Detroit's derelict darling from the city for the cost of its unpaid tax bill -- just under a million dollars. Hults planned to redevelop the property.
Bidding in the Wayne County Tax Auction started at $21,000. Whoever purchases the building will also inherit the $100,00 a year tax bill and all the task of managing the scrapping, crime, and fires that frequent the plant.
Tick tock!
