A local nonprofit outbid a competitor for the vacant federal building in Montpelier, providing the group an opportunity to shape the future of the prominent site in the capital city.

The 87 State Street Local Development Corporation submitted a high bid of $540,000 during the auction, which ran for nearly two months and ended on Wednesday. One other bidder was involved but topped out at $530,000, according to the auction page. The bidding began at $500,000.

“We now control our own destiny as a community, and that feels really important,” said Jon Copans, the group’s treasurer. “Having some third party own the property — particularly a third party without the wherewithal or the knowledge of what it was going to take to take this project on — was pretty worrisome.”

The federal government’s General Services Administration has 60 days to formally accept the bid, though Copans is confident it will, given the very public auction process. But the price is far below the $2.4 million that the feds initially hoped to get in a private sale for the property, which once housed the city’s post office. A GSA spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the auction results and next steps.

The 70,000-square-foot building on a 1.6-acre lot has been vacant since the catastrophic July 2023 flooding that submerged downtown Montpelier. Since expressing interest in the property, Copans’ group, a nonprofit entity used in Vermont for coordinating and financing economic development projects, has raised concerns about the unknown extent of contamination in the building related to the floodwaters, mold, asbestos and toxic chemicals known as PCBs. Given that, it’s impossible to estimate what redevelopment might ultimately cost — or what the site could host. They’ll be assessing the contamination and planning what to do about it, he said.

That said, Copans added, “It feels important to celebrate this milestone.”

“We really want to get this property back to work for Montpelier,” he said.