At the moment, the 94-year-old, fire-ravaged Heritage building is under demolition, an effort that is expected to take four to five weeks.

But rumors circulating throughout Auburn’s downtown claim the property owner, MSRE Apartments and principal Melina Lin, had already sold the 12,000-square-foot site at 124 E. Main St.

Not true, say folks in the know.

Or if true, those folks hasten to add, it would be much too early to tell, or for a deed of sale to show up on the rolls of the King County Assessor.

Contacted by phone Monday afternoon, MSRE personnel said as far as they knew, the property had not yet sold, and in fact they did not believe it had.

Doug Lein, economic development manager for the City of Auburn, said he’d heard the same rumors, but didn’t believe they were true.

There are, Lein noted, interested buyers, although who they are must remain a mystery for now.

“Right now if it were true, it would be a matter between the owner and the buyer. It’s just too early to tell. It could be in escrow, or a buyer could be in the 60-90-day due-diligence period,” Lein said.

Curiously, nine months after fire destroyed the building on Dec. 26, 2017, the website abodo.com still lists its apartments for rent and extols its virtues.

Daily, a knot of curious people gather to watch as the building’s razing proceeds, and to speculate about what may become of the property when demolition and cleanup are all done.

“When a 12,000-square-foot building comes down, you see it’s not really that big,” said Jim Rottle. His grandfather, Abdo Rottle, a Lebanese immigrant, launched the family’s Auburn store in the old Heritage Building.

Got any ideas?

What would you like to see replace the Heritage Building on East Main Street?

Send us your comments to submissions@auburn-reporter.com