The Mount Pleasant Commerce Center was sold to Citizens Bank Thursday for $2.04 million at a public auction at Isabella County Courthouse, 200 N. Main St.

Citizens Bank’s bid was slightly more than the listed minimum bid of $1.9 million. The bank will most likely look to repackage and sell the building at 711 W. Pickard St.

The property has been under the management of APR Services since Dec. 5, 2008, and they had until Thursday to sell the building to avoid an auction, according to court documents. The property’s listing price was $2.7 million.

The building, home of The Morning Sun newspaper, went into foreclosure proceedings after its owner, C.M.R. Investments, failed to make payments on its loan.

Two tenants, English Direct Mail Services and the Mount Pleasant Brewing Company, left the building prior to its foreclosure. The Mount Pleasant Brewing Company, owned by Mount Pleasant Mayor Jim Holton, moved to 614 W. Pickard St., and English Direct Mail was shut down following a fraud scandal.

E-mail the author: Ryan Czachorski