Bellaire City Council is no longer proceeding with the potential sale of a portion of Mapleridge Street in a deal that would have closed the street to vehicle traffic in order to expand one of the first shopping centers in the city.

The announcement was made during the public comments portion of the April 3 City Council meeting. According to Mayor Andrew Friedberg, the developers interested in acquiring the land, initially for a $1 agreement, did not meet the city’s extended deadline.

“In our last regular session on March 20, I announced that the applicant for the abandonment and sale of a portion of the Mapleridge Street right of way had requested that the vote on their application be delayed so they could consider their options moving forward,” Friedberg said. “Since that time, staff communicated to the applicant a deadline for their decision whether to proceed and that deadline having now passed, the application is considered withdrawn.”

The mayor said that City Council will not be considering the matter any further.

“We appreciate members of the public for their participation in that regard,” he said.

The three entities involved in the transaction were Luel Partnership Ltd., EKG Partners LLC—which includes Meyer from MC Management—and FKM Partnership Ltd. Luel and EKG officials wrote in their previous petition to the city that their goal if the land was acquired was to change the land within the Bellaire Triangle from a public street into a private parking area that would contain at least 20 parking spaces, landscaping and have pedestrian access between the two adjoining properties, according to the March 6 agenda documents.

Following the March 6 public hearing, council members were originally slated to revisit the item March 20. However, the item was not placed on the March 20 agenda, and City Manager Sharon Citino told Community Impact the city was working with MC Management to come to a determination.

At the April 3 meeting, both the city manager and Council Member Jim Hotze inquired to the mayor if a public notice or press release be created for the public.

“I don’t know if that’s the city’s place to advertise the applicant’s decision to withdraw,” Friedberg said.

Representatives from MC Management & Development Inc. said they have no comment at this time.