After failing in their first attempt to find a buyer for a 12-acre tract of land on Magnolia Road off U.S. 61 South, Warren County supervisors are going to put the property back on the market.

The supervisors Jan. 17 are expected to authorize county administrator John Smith to re-advertise the property three times — Jan. 29, and Feb. 5 and 12 — in hopes a second attempt will raise some interest. Bids will be opened Feb. 20.

“This ad will be different; we won’t have a minimum acceptable price,” Smith said, adding the first ad indicated the county would accept no less than $328,270.

“That might have prevented people from submitting bids,” he said.

Board president Richard George said the county acquired the land in the mid-1960s as part of an economic development program to allow F.L. Cappaert to expand his Magnolia Mobile Homes business. The land and buildings, he said, were where the company was going to build its larger mobile homes.

Under a program that allows businesses to take advantage of low interest bonds, he said, Cappaert bought the property and gave it to the county.

Because Cappaert was going to lease the land from the county, George said, he became eligible for the low interest bonds because he was going to be on public property.

The land was later subleased to another person, who then sold their lease interest to someone else, George said. When that individual did not keep the lease up, it terminated the lease and the land returned to the county.