The project to save the Sphar building may have finally come to an end.

The Winchester Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to reject the lone bid for a scaled-down renovation project, after it came in about $1 million above the available funds.

City Manager Matt Belcher said he and city staff would begin exploring the costs involved in demolishing the building and repurposing the site.

“There’s not much to say,” Winchester Mayor Ed Burtner said. “We voted in February to take a scaled down plan and go through the bidding process. We do not have the funds to honor the one bid on the project.”

The Sphar building is a former seed warehouse at the corner of North Main and Depot streets, along the former railroad line through downtown.

Originally, the project was to stabilize and renovate the building into office space, a welcome center and rental space. The scaled down project would have demolished about two-thirds of the building and use the remaining space for the offices and welcome center.

As the project progressed, the building deteriorated to the point police and fire officials would not let commissioners go inside for safety concerns.

“The project’s been on life support for quite a while,” Commissioner JoEllen Reed said. “It’s time to make this decision.”

The commissioners voted earlier this year to demolish the building, but the hope of private investors and reducing the scope of the work delayed those efforts.

The consensus Tuesday was the time has finally come.

“I know it has to happen, but it stresses me,” Commissioner Kitty Strode said.

Several other things beyond the city’s control also played into the situation, Burtner said. One of those was a decision by the Clark County Fiscal Court earlier this year to return a $500,000 community development block grant it secured for the project. The city has about $1.3 million on hand, but the base bid for the scaled down project was nearly $2 million, and alternate items would have raised the cost more.

Much of the available funds are a $1 million Transportation Enhancement grant from the state, which will now be returned.

The Greater Clark Foundation pledged $350,000 toward the project, and Belcher said conversations are continuing with the foundation.

“I think the state knows we made a strong effort,” Burtner said. “It is timely to cast this vote tonight.”

Belcher said the city would talk to salvage companies to see if any of the material from the building can be reused.

In other action Tuesday, the commissioners:

— approved spending up to $2,000 for an Eagle Scout project from Sam Pendleton to purchase new American flags and replace brackets through downtown.

— approved the second reading of an ordinance to set 2019 tax rates at 14.6 cents per $100 value for real property and 14.99 cents for personal property.

— declared a 2007 Ford Crown Victoria as surplus property.

— approved a contract to purchase property at 14 Lincoln St. for $8,500 for the Lincoln Street project.

— authorized an attorney to pursue condemnation of property at 24 and 26 Lincoln St. for the Lincoln Street project.

— approved a contract to purchase property at 227 E. Hickman St. for $31,000 for the Lincoln Street project.

— approved terminating the employment of Heather Walters as a single role paramedic at Winchester Fire-EMS.

— approved hiring Firus Etemad-Moghadam, Danielle Corliss and James Buckman as patient transfer specialist/EMTs at Winchester Fire-EMS.

— approved hiring Hunter Gomez as a maintenance worker at Winchester Public works.

— canceled the Nov. 5 Board of Commissioners meeting because it is election day and Winchester City Hall is a polling place.