The City of Raleigh on Thursday said an offer to buy the Wilmington Street Station parking deck has been withdrawn.
The purchase plan drew attention because the deck, across from Marbles Kids Museum, is popular with families for its free 2-hour parking and free weekend parking.
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Gold Crown Management Company, based in Colorado, sent the city an offer to pay $15.4 million for the property. But the city said that offer had been withdrawn.
It's unclear whether the city will still put out a planned Request for Information (RFI) to solicit other buyers.
We can confirm that the offer to purchase the Wilmington Street garage was withdrawn. We recognize that the offer created a lot of conversation in the community. We also recognize that this offer potentially provided opportunities to address the City's stated goal to improve the financial stability of our parking program. As the City grows, we continue to look for efficiencies in our systems so that our residents' tax dollars deliver the highest level of services for the City.City of Raleigh statement
The RFI would allow the city to understand the potential buyers and their interests. City councilors are expected to review the RFI in their next meeting.
City leaders have said the sale of the deck would provide both savings -- in the cost of maintenance -- and property tax revenue.
WRAL News asked the city why the Wilmington Street Station deck, of 10 city-owned decks downtown, was being considered for sale.
The city is not respond directly to that question but issued this statement:
"Our downtown has so much to offer and we welcome everyone. Fortunately, the City has 10 parking decks in the downtown area, as well as on-street parking and of course there are private decks. One point to note: the Moore Square Deck is just around the corner from the Wilmington St. Station deck and has ample spaces to serve that area," the city said.