BEAUMONT, Texas —
An AT&T building in downtown Beaumont has been sold for more than $2 million in an online auction.
The winning bidder, who has yet to be named, met the seller's reserve price and won the auction with a bid of $2,150,000 according to the auction website.
The unknown buyer now has 30 days to sign a contract on the property which is now in escrow according to the Ten-X auction company.
The City had participated in the auction but did not end up buying the building according to Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames.
“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," Ames told 12News.
"Now, paying that much money we would hope whoever bought it has a plan for it. We did not want the building sitting empty in our beautiful downtown any longer," Ames added.
The mayor told 12News in mid-January the city intended to buy the property and demolish the building. At that time, Ames said the city's plans involved finding a buyer for the property after tearing down the current structure.
"We are excited that others had a lot of interest in the property and had faith in the future of downtown. We look forward to working with the new owner in an effort to further revitalize downtown." Beaumont City Manager Kyle Hayes told 12News.
The online auction opened Monday, February 11, 2019 and lasted through Wednesday, February 13, 2019, just after 12:30 p.m.
Beaumont City Council voted 6-1 in favor of bidding on the former AT&T building at 555 Main St. on January 15.
The building hasn't been used in a couple years and the city hopes to utilize the property for riverfront development in an effort to spur economic growth.
The vote authorized city manager Kyle Hayes to make a bid on the property during the auction.
The bidding process required a $25,000 deposit that will be refunded if the city doesn't end up buying the property.
