SALISBURY — Rowan County is back in the running to buy the Salisbury Mall after the winning bidder at an auction this week didn’t complete the transaction, County Manager Gary Page said.
“Auction.com called late yesterday afternoon and advised that the bid wasn’t completed. Thus, the county isn’t out of consideration for the mall purchase,” Page wrote in an e-mail Friday. “They advised that I would be contacted next week on how to move forward, if we were interested.”
The county dropped out of an online auction for the mall on Wednesday when the price for the mall climbed to $4.33 million, nearly $2 million more than the current owner paid last year. The county had set a ceiling on its bidding, but officials wouldn’t name that figure.
Page said the county now expects to join in negotiations for the property.
“The county is interested in negotiating for the purchase,” Page said. “With that said, it’s still at our price. That’s all I know or can say at this point.”
County officials say they’re interested in putting some county departments, like the board of elections, in the mall, along with other programs.
The 27-year-old mall has nearly 320,000 square feet of space and is valued by the county tax department at $6.1 million.
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.