The City of Auburn has submitted a letter of intent to purchase the old Public Health Building on Auburn Avenue North from King County.

“They have to go through their appraisal process, so we still can’t say it’s concrete or for sure,” Dana Hinman, acting administrative director for the City of Auburn, said Friday.

Hinman said Auburn Economic Development Director Doug Lein has been in close contact with King County’s real estate division.

“Once an appraisal takes place and we make one more signature to say, ‘Yes, we accept this price,’ we’ll go forward,” Hinman added.

Should the deal work out, the arts division of the Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation Department will take up most of the space.

“We have a definite plan in place,” said Hinman.

The City already has a grant application into King County’s 4Culture for up to half of whatever the purchase price would be for improvements.

“So, it’s not only an opportunity to purchase but to have a nice outside cash flow to make the improvements we want. We are going to run some art space out of there,” Hinman said.

The building started out life in 1937 as the Auburn Post Office. King County acquired it in 1963 when the new post office was built.

In 2009, King County put the Carnegie building up for sale on the open market. Asking price — about $620,000.

At the time, the City, in its determination to lease the building, consistently reminded county leaders why Andrew Carnegie had built and donated it in the first place, and what he intended it to stay in perpetuity — a general community benefit.

A bit pricier than what the City was offering to lease it for at the time — the same one buck King County had acquired it for.

Despite the chill descended over negotiations with the county, City leaders kept at it behind the scenes.