The city of Wilmington moved to postpone the demolition of its downtown offices at 305 Chestnut St. on Wednesday.

City officials advertised a bid last week for the full demolition of the city-owned buildings near the corner of North Third and Chestnut streets. On Wednesday, officials posted an addendum to the request for proposals, or RFP, stating the potential demolition had been postponed until further notice.

"The RFP for the demolition at 305 Chestnut Street has been postponed until further notice while staff further evaluates the specifications of the RFP," city spokesperson Dylan Lee wrote in a statement to the Business Journal.

The 1.5-acre site is one of nine parcels in and around downtown that the Wilmington City Council declared surplus last year in anticipation of the city’s $68 million purchase of the former PPD headquarters at 929 N. Front St., which closed last July. Wilmington leaders aim to use sale proceeds from surplus properties to offset the purchase cost of the new campus.

The initial decision to demolish the buildings at 305 Chestnut St. was based on a market analysis that showed “no interest in reusing the existing structure, which is old and would require substantial repair,” Lee told the Business Journal last week.

The site at 305 Chestnut St. is home to two office buildings connected by a breezeway. The two-story building nearest North Third Street was constructed in 1959 and has an area of approximately 10,250 square feet. The five-story office building along Chestnut Street has approximately 37,500 square feet and was built in 1987.

The city of Wilmington acquired the property, which formerly operated as a bank, in 1997, according to property records. The total appraised tax value of the site is approximately $7.5 million, with a land valuation of $1.5 million and a building valuation of nearly $6 million.