John Buta of Butech Bliss acquired the 25,000-square-foot commercial building and its 2.4 acres at 423 S. Lundy Ave. with a high bid of $410,000 at an absolute auction on Tuesday. Kiko Auctions conducted the on-site sale that drew about 25 in-person bidders and a handful of online hopefuls.

A 10% buyer’s premium was added, bringing the final purchase price to $451,000.

“We’re happy with the price,” said Jock Buta, president and CEO of Butech. “It’s a big building in a great location. It has the space we need for production storage. To build something comparable from the ground up would take a lot more money than we paid today.”

Butech Bliss is the fifth largest employer in Salem. The company designs and manufactures equipment for the metal industry.

Matthew Kiko brings down his gavel bringing the on-site auction of the former Sparkle Market property to a close on Tuesday. The winning bid of $410,000 came from John Buta of Butech Bliss. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

“Steel, mills, aluminum mills, titanium,” Jock Buta explained. “We have 11 plants throughout the town, the biggest one is right on this end of town.”

The property is just blocks away from that plant.

“Our intention is to use the building to store our large archive of drawings and files for all our products,” Jock Buta said. “And some potential parts storage, spare parts and processed parts storage. We could use this building for that because we are right down the street.”

The property will also be used to house equipment that is completed but not ready to ship.

“Sometimes, you might drive down and see a 27-axle truck with a giant piece of equipment waiting for the permits to go through to move it and things of that nature,” Jock Buta said. “There’s also a possibility of storing that equipment here.”

The former Sparkle Market building on Lundy Avenue in Salem was open for viewing before the start of Tuesday’s on-site auction conducted by Kiko Auctions. John Buta of Butech Bliss topped all other bidders, acquiring the 25,000-foot building on 2.4 acres for $410,000. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

Jock Buta added that Butech is open to sharing the space with a potential commercial tenant.

“We might also look at leasing a part of it out,” Jock Buta said. “There’s a side space there that someone may be interested in leasing for a shop.”

All of the interior fixtures and contents — shelving units, coolers, commercial kitchen, bakery and deli equipment and office equipment — is being sold in a separate online auction that closes Thursday. To bid or view those items, visit kikoauctions.com.

Mike Furrie of Village Plaza Sparkle Inc. was listed as the seller.

Vince Furrie told local media in February that ongoing road work led to reduced customer traffic at Sparkle’s Salem location as well as another Sparkle Market on Western Reserve Road. The Youngstown store helped support the one in Salem. When it no longer could do so, the Salem store, which had been part of the community since 1985 , was shuttered.