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City of Beaumont could vote on whether to purchase downtown AT&T building

The building sold to Tom Flanagan for more than $2 million in an online auction in 2019.

BEAUMONT, Texas — Next week, the city of Beaumont could vote on whether to purchase the old AT&T building, located in downtown Beaumont, on 555 Main St.

It is the latest chapter in a "building battle" that has divided the city.

The building sold to Tom Flanagan for more than $2 million in an online auction in 2019.

It appears, they are still fighting for the property.

An item on the agenda next week would consider giving the city manager 'authorization' to buy the building at 555 Main St.

It is unclear as to why the city wants it, but years ago, it seemed to be so that the city could use the land for riverfront development in hopes to spur economic growth.

Related: Downtown Beaumont AT&T building sold on auction block for $2.15M

 Related: AT&T building auction to open on Monday, City of Beaumont poised to bid

The 2019 online auction for the building started Feb.11, 2019 and ended Feb. 13, 2019.

The city of Beaumont had participated in the auction but did not end up buying the building.

“We were hoping that by offering a million dollars for this building several months ago it would promote interest in the private sector which as I understand it there were five bidders, so it looks like that plan worked," Mayor Becky Ames told 12NewsNow in a 2019 interview.

In 2019, Ames told 12News that the city intended to buy the property and then demolish the building, with plans of finding a buyer for the property after tearing down the current structure.

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