Bank buys back Polaroid land; site's future uncertain

The German bank that holds the mortgage on the 120-acre former Polaroid property today bought back the land for $42.5 million at a foreclosure auction.

Barry Braunstein, an attorney representing Helaba Bank, which holds the $70 million note on the Main Street property, had the winning bid at the auction.

There were a "handful of qualified bidders," according to an auction official.

New York based-Related Companies and Polaroid had formed a partnership, Watch City Development LLC, which planned to build a 1.7 million-square-foot mix of shops, offices and restaurants at the site.

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