Judge orders auction sale of former Martin Luther King Center in Norwich
Norwich — The building that once was the center of activities for youths in the city’s West Side neighborhoods will be sold at a tax foreclosure auction May 11 after no representatives from the defunct former Martin Luther King Center came forward to contest the city’s foreclosure action.
New London Superior Court judge Emmet L Cosgrove ordered the foreclosure auction sale of the former Martin Luther King Center at 21 Fairmount St. for noon May 11 on the premises. New London attorney Stephen E. Reck will preside at the sale.
The city filed a tax foreclosure action on the defunct former youth center in October 2016 after the center had been closed for three years and had lost its tax-exempt status. When no one representing the former organization appeared in court, the judge ordered legal notices to be published seeking any parties seeking to notify any parties connected with owner, Martin Luther King Center of Norwich Inc.
The city is owed $50,630 in back taxes and legal fees, and no other identified creditors were listed in the court filing. But since the building, located in a multifamily zone, was appraised at $100,000, Cosgrove ordered the auction sale rather than awarding the property to the city outright.
City Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll said any proceeds from the sale above the city’s debt would be held by the court in case verified creditors come forward; that money would be turned over to the state if no other debts are owed.
The two-story, 3,551-square-foot house, built in 1910, is listed as a single occupancy in city tax records, but is in a multifamily zone on 0.44 acres. The house is built into a steep hill, with the sheltered yard at the lower level.
The youth center opened in 1967 and was run by the West Side Community Action Committee. The group struggled financially for years, and the building was closed for about a decade in the 1980s and early '90s, reopening in 1992. Financial struggles and frequent leadership changes ensued during a time when the center had paid staff funded through the city’s Community Development Block Grant, other grants and donations.
Youth programs ranged from dinners and dances to movie and game nights to field trips to museums and events.
M. Garfield Rucker, the last member of the board of directors, closed the center for good in December 2013, using the last remaining grant money to pay final utility bills before he requested Norwich Public Utilities to turn off the utilities.
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