News 12 at 6 o'clock, November 3, 2009

AUGUSTA---The White's building is still up for sale and owned by the FDIC after the highest bidder didn't bid high enough in this morning's auction.

The note for sale still stands after Gurjit Jalli's $800,000 bid didn't make the $1.5 million minimum bid.

Jalli, who owns the OnCar Automotive used car lot in Martinez, says he doesn't think it's right that he didn't receive the property when he was the only bidder as well as the highest bidder.

"I was the highest bidder. I bidded off and eventually we didn't get the property," Jalli said. "The highest bidder always wins."

Jalli says he has been in the auction business for the last 15 years. He told News 12 he has never seen anything like what he saw in today's auction.

He didn't win the property because he didn't meet the minimum bid, something he said he didn't know about.

"If we had known the minimum bid is $1.5 million we probably had not shown up or we would've shown up and started the bidding at $1.5 million," Jalli said.

The problem is, it was stated by Downtown Development Authority executive director Margaret Woodard that the minimum bid was $1.8 million. News 12 reported that information yesterday.

The FDIC got approval to lower the minimum bid overnight, which brought the minimum bid to $1.5 million, Woodard said.

"We contacted everyone who had shown interest in the project and let them know that the opening bid was $1.5 million," Woodard said in regards to Jalli's claim that he didn't know.

Since there wasn't a bidder who won the property, the FDIC will continue to own the property until another person comes along who can purchase the project.

A structured loan sale will be performed with about 7,200 non-performing loans, according to David Barr of the FDIC. Barr says they anticipate a mid-December sale date.

"The project will be put in a structure sale, and the FDIC will remain involved and will negotiate with a third party vendor," Woodard said.

Tenants like Woodard want a third party buyer to come in and purchase the property so a qualified developer can come in and finish the project, she said.

But Jalli says he wishes he was the one to own and develop the historic property.

"I'd like to have the property, but if we don't get it we will have to move on," he said.