A large block of undeveloped land encompassing the Williamsburg Pottery – a tourist destination known for its outlet shopping – is for sale.

“We are exploring the sale of our land holdings and our advisor, U.S. Trust Co., has established a Web site to make prospective purchasers aware of the opportunity,” Kim Maloney, chief executive officer and owner of the Williamsburg Pottery, said Friday in a statement. “But we have no plans to sell the Pottery.”

News reports late Thursday and Friday indicated that the 70-year-old shopping magnet was up for sale. In 1938, James E. Maloney founded the business, making 18th-century saltglaze reproductions to sell at low prices, according to the company’s Web site.

As time passed, Maloney added china and glassware, discounting prices so that shoppers would return, the Web site says. Since then, the business has mushroomed into 200 acres with 32 buildings and an inventory collected from around the world. An estimated 3 million people visit annually.

Maloney, the widow of the founder, said she is selling about 21 parcels totaling about 1,200 acres of flat land with water features. An interchange of I-64 runs through the property, the U.S. Trust Web promotion said.

Williamsburg Pottery is close to Prime Outlets-Williamsburg and Busch Gardens theme park and near historical sites in Jamestown and Yorktown.

U.S. Trust Co. is affiliated with Bank of America, and the latter’s spokesman John Yiannacopoulos said the official bidding process is expected to end July 1. A decision should follow, he said, declining to disclose any further details.

“We don’t discuss any kind of client relationships or specifics about the bids we’re receiving,” he said during a telephone call from New York.

Daniel W. Aston, a partner with Roseland Property Co., sees potential in the property. Roseland is developing an urban lifestyle village of retail stores and apartments in Williamsburg known as High Street, But he said the timing of the sale is problematic.

“At the present time, the overall real estate market throughout the U.S. is presently challenged with many issues,” Aston said. “And that would impact the amount of capable buyers.”

Gerald Divaris, CEO of Divaris Real Estate Inc., agreed. He said the property for sale is well located but the market has changed. His company has worked on The Marquis in Williamsburg, a mixed-used retail center developed by Premier Properties, which last month filed for bankruptcy protection.

“From a time standpoint, they may have missed the point,” Divaris said of Williamsburg Pottery. “To buy it and expect to convert it to real estate today is a little bit optimistic.”

Jennifer Jiggetts, (757) 446-2643, jennifer.jiggetts@pilotonline.com [1]