The price has gone up again on the city parking lot at 1111 W. Chapel Hill St.
Neighboring property owner David Anthony offered $63,050 for the .23-acre lot on Monday. Self-Help, which wants the lot for its Kent Corner office-retail development, had offiered $60,000.
Self-Help now has until July 8 to upset Anthony’s bid with an offer of at least $66,252.50, according to David Fleischer, manager of the city's real-estate division.
Project Manager Micah Kordsmeier said Self-Help intends to re-bid. Securing the parking lot is necessary for planned open space, including preservation of several speciment trees, he said.
"We’re still studying both how much time we can allow for (bidding) to go on and how much we can spend,” Kordsmeier said.
In April, the City Council declared the lot surplus property and agreed to sell it to Self-Help, the Durham financial and community-uplift institution, for $37,000. However, surplus-property sales are subject to "upset bids" for a set period before a deal may be closed.
Anthony, and some other nearby residents, are not satisfied with commitments Self-Help has made for its project. Anthony has said he has several uses in mind for the parking lot, and has had talks with Self-Help about cooperation in its development.
Still, he topped Self-Help's original price with an offer of $38,500. Self-Help offered $50,000. Anthony offered $52,550. Self-Help offered $60,000, which Anthony has now raised.
Upset bidding may continue indefinitely.
