GSA: Top bidder backed out of deal for old Cape Girardeau federal building

The top bidder has reneged on a deal to buy the former federal building in Cape Girardeau for $625,000, the General Services Administration confirmed Thursday.

Now the agency responsible for selling surplus government property is in discussions with the runner-up in an attempt to sell the 44-year-old, two-story vacant building at 339 Broadway.

"Unfortunately, the first bidder backed away from the deal," GSA spokeswoman Angela Brees said in an emailed response. "GSA will keep the bidder's $25,000 deposit. We are still in discussions with the second-highest bidder."

That bid came in at $605,000, although the GSA has said it will not reveal the identities of any of the bidders until after the sale has closed. Over several months this summer, four bidders jockeyed for the top spot during the online auction, with the bidding ending Aug. 14. The top bid was still well below GSA's $900,000 asking price.

The situation is not unusual, Brees said. That's been especially true since February, when President Barack Obama issued a cost-savings memo asking the GSA to get rid of 14,000 office buildings, lots and government-owned property it no longer needs by the end of next year.

"We've had other auctions not close with the winning bidder," Brees said in the email. "As anyone who has tried to sell a house recently knows, it's a tough market right now. We will continue to do all that we can to sell the property for reuse."

The only publicly known interested party is the Cape Girardeau County Commission, which has been considering the 47,867-square-foot building as part of a plan to relocate some county offices from the antebellum Common Pleas Courthouse.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said Thursday afternoon that he knew that the top bidder had backed out. But he said he was told by GSA officials that they intended to put the building back out to auction.

When told of Tracy's comments, Brees responded that putting the building back on the auction block is indeed an option, but that depends on the outcome of the discussion with the second-highest bidder.

"I'm almost at a loss for words to describe it," said a clearly frustrated Tracy. "I would have hoped for some resolution by now. It's really dragging out."

Tracy, who has been authorized by the commission to bid on the building, has yet to confirm or deny that the commission was one of the online bidders for the building. The commission has confirmed the GSA rejected an offer made before the online auction began.

But the commission is still interested if a reasonable price can be agreed upon, Tracy said.

"We've got a legitimate use for it," Tracy said. "We can put it to use for the taxpayers. At the right price, that makes sense. If somebody from the private sector can buy it and put people to work in it, I'm fine with that, too."

But with the top bidder pulling out, Tracy believes that all of the offers have been skewed. For example, the second-highest bidder's offer probably wouldn't have been so high if the bidder hadn't been trying to surpass another's bid.

"Clearly, the price is going down," Tracy said. "The top bid was supposed to determine what the market price is, but if that bidder backs out, that's not really the market price."

Regardless, Tracy said, negotiating with the runner-up is GSA's prerogative. So, for all of the parties interested in buying the building -- known and unknown -- the waiting game begins anew.

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," Tracy said.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

339 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO