A state-owned, closed dairy plant in Alaska is for sale again. The historic Matanuska Maiddairy plant in Anchorage will be on the market starting in July through August 21st, with a minimum bid of $1.5 million.
The now-defunct plant on Northern Lights Boulevard and the 1.42 acres it sits on will be put up for sale in a sealed bid offering starting this month, said Ray Nix, an asset manager for the state Division of Agriculture.
The Board of Agriculture and Conservation, which has oversight over the dairy’s properties, decided Friday to put the property back up for sale. The state-owned dairy plant has been closed since December.
An attempt last year to sell the plant and a Mat Maid bottle-making facility in Palmer failed to attract any bidders. In that sale, the state had required a minimum bid of $3.35 million, and the price included the land, the facilities and equipment in both buildings, Nix said. The equipment has since been auctioned off. The $1.5 million price set as the minimum for this sale was chosen because that is the appraised value of the land, Nix said. If no acceptable bids are submitted, the property will be offered in an over-the-counter sale, he said.
Matanuska Maid started as a cooperative in Palmer in 1936. The state took it over in the mid-1980s after the dairy went bankrupt. Under state ownership, Mat Maid operated successfully for several years but closed late last year because of losses in recent years.