BAR HARBOR—Hotelier Tom Walsh purchased the Park Entrance Motel Tuesday at auction for $5.3 million.

Half a dozen early bidders were left behind as Walsh and Andrew Donovan, a hotel owner from southern Maine, bid into the millions.

Walsh owns 95 hotels in North America. Walsh’s Ocean Properties in Bar Harbor owns the Golden Anchor Inn on West Street, the Regency Hotel and Day’s Inn on Route 3, and the former Tennis Club property on West Street.

Donovan and Richard Ade, Walsh’s associate, squared off at $4.5 million. There were two breaks which Donovan spent talking into a cell phone. The bids went up incrementally until Donovan offered $5.25 million. When Ade trumped that figure with $5.3 million, Donovan was through.

"The bank just wouldn’t back me up," Donovan said.

The eight-acre property fronting Frenchman Bay was sold following more than two years of legal battles. Union Trust Co., the bank that held the mortgage, initiated foreclosure in 1999. A process that typically takes a few months took nearly two years because Robert Macomber and Robert DeSimone, former partners of Park Entrance owners Lisa MacQuinn Tweedie and James Tweedie, initiated court action, according to the Tweedies’ attorney, Peter Roy.

Macomber and DeSimone’s basic argument was that they and Bar Harbor Inn owner David Witham had an option on a three-acre portion of the property, Roy said. Foreclosure would have extinguished the right to have the mortgage assigned to the three men.

During the two-year process, a number of court decisions—including one by the Maine Supreme Court—denied the men’s claim to the property, clearing the way for the auction. Last month, Roy estimated the Tweedies owed Union Trust $3 million.

Each bidder was required to register a $100,000 deposit just to take part. That money will be returned to the unsuccessful. Witham, who was a registered bidder, Macomber and DeSimone, as well as town officials attended the auction.

The property was sold clear of all back taxes and with fees to local trade publications, permits and the Chamber of Commerce prepaid.

"That’s a $27,000 prepaid gift," said auctioneer Thomas Saturley of Tranzon Auction Properties in Portland.

He promised to take his time during the auction, which he did, offering three short breaks. Saturley also repeatedly approached Ade and Donovan to ask if they needed more time to think.

"There is no fast gavel," Saturley said. "We’re going to take the time necessary."

Bidding started at $1.5 million and went to $4 million before Saturley called a two-minute break. It was nearly an hour before the auction was over.

Following the auction, Roy said he had hoped the sale would generate an additional $300,000, but was happy with the top bid. The Tweedies have bills that will eat into the money generated by the sale, but they still will have enough to live comfortably, Roy said.

"It’s the end of a long, tortured process that certainly could have been accomplished in a year less than what it actually took," Roy said. "Hopefully, Mrs. and Mrs. Tweedie can go on with their lives. At the end of the day, there will be some money left. It’s a fresh start for them. I’m really happy for them as a family."

Roy had objected to the auction’s timing, however. After hearing of the the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Roy and the Tweedies had asked that that the auction be postponed.

Walsh said he was unsure until recently if he would buy the property, so no plans have been developed.

"I’ve never been down here, to tell you the truth," Walsh said.

The property brought a fair market value, Ade said.

John Lynch, executive vice president of Union Trust Co., agreed.

"We’re pleased it will continue to be a viable resource to the community," Lynch said. "It seems like it will be in good hands."

Ade anticipates making The Park Entrance Motel into a premier place to stay.