The Winchester Board of Commissioners will have to decide again what to do about the Sphar building after the latest bid came in well over budget.

The bids, which were opened Wednesday afternoon at Winchester City Hall, were for a downsized project to save and renovate about one-third of the 138-year-old warehouse on North Main Street. The rest of the building would then be demolished.

Winchester City Manager Matt Belcher said the only bid came from Churchill McGee, based in Lexington, with a base bid of $1.9 million and a complete bid with all alternates of $2.3 million.

At this point, there is less than $1.3 million available for the project, Belcher said.

“We were hopeful, but there’s a $600,000 difference in the base bid,” Belcher said.

The city has led the way in efforts to preserve the building, which served as an anchor for business and agriculture in downtown Winchester.

Originally, the building was to be restored into office space for some city offices, a welcome center and other space which could be rented. Bids for the full project came in around $2.8 million, which the commissioners rejected.

The county had received a $500,000 community development block grant for the project, but the funds were returned to the state earlier this year.

The city had also pursued private donors or partners, but none materialized.

The building has deteriorated, with parts of the roof collapsing. The building has been further secured after two people entered the building this summer and started a fire inside.

In March, the commissioners voted to demolish the building and prepare the site for future development. The commissioners ultimately decided to bid a scaled-down version.

Belcher said the matter may be on the agenda for Tuesday’s city commission meeting.