The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority has spent more than $100,000 on one East End property since 2015 in efforts to make it marketable.
Now, the building may be demolished to make room for new apartments.
The urban renewal authority voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a proposal by developer Chris Sadd to acquire 1212 Quarrier St.
While a development proposal hasn't yet been finalized, board member Jack Cavender said Sadd plans to demolish the brick building on the property and "rebuild a structure that will be compliant with what we feel needs to go there."
CURA took title to 1212 Quarrier in June 2015 from MATO Investments, Inc., a real estate firm headed by local attorney Bob Johns that capitalizes on tax lien sales.
The board paid more than $35,000 to acquire the property, including $27,000 in delinquent property taxes.
Since then, CURA has spent another $103,000 on the property, Executive Director Ron Butlin said.
The bulk of that expense, about $98,000, involved asbestos abatement and demolition of a brick addition on the back of the building, which butted up against the Arlington Court rowhouses and was beyond restoration.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Sadd confirmed that he submitted a bid to purchase the property but wouldn't discuss his plans to develop the site because he hadn't yet contacted the surrounding neighbors.
Butlin, who wasn't hired as the board's director until late last year, said it might make more financial sense for a developer to tear down the building, which could house four or five residential units, and rebuild a structure with more units.
"The site is big enough to have 15 new units. And I think CURA looking at 15 new units of housing [near] downtown is a really good incentive," Butlin said. "We try to balance the historic preservation versus the economics of a vibrant downtown, and more people living downtown is a really good thing."
Also on Wednesday, the board voted to deny two proposals submitted by Sadd and local property owner Philip Chin to acquire two other East End properties.
Sadd and Chin both submitted bids to purchase and renovate the Chamberlain Court rowhouses, located behind the Roosevelt Community Center on Ruffner Avenue, as well as the neighboring property at 1315 Lewis St.
The two properties comprise 10 residential units.
Butlin said both developers' bids were below $30,000, "representing the fact that the properties are in pretty bad shape."
Sadd has twice applied for and been denied federal low-income tax credits for Chamberlain Court in the past.
Butlin said CURA may explore other options to address the building's physical shape before reissuing a request for proposals.
"We would potentially do some structural inspections, or maybe some design work through an architect," Butlin said. "I have to do some research and talk to a few people to see if it's something we might be able to accomplish ourselves, or if we'd need a [request for proposals] for a developer to help us."
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.