After what many thought was a death blow to saving the St. Francis church, Landmark Partners said Friday they would still be willing to let a historic preservation group buy the aging edifice.

The Historic Provo Preservation Foundation was left reeling Thursday evening after what was expected to be a typical real-estate closing failed to go through.

But Peter Duros of Landmark Partners said Friday night that the foundation could still buy the church, "if they have the money." Landmark is a Lindon-based development firm with the rights to purchase the building and demolish it for development if it so chooses.

Doug Bush, president of the preservation foundation, said that his group was planning to meet early next week and discuss what options there may be and decide the foundation's course of action. He said that the group has not been able to get in contact with Landmark Partners.

"There might be some hope," Bush said. "There is a rather remarkable amount of public interest."

The Historic Provo Preservation Foundation planned to purchase the Spanish mission-style building, located at about 200 North and 500 West, from the Salt Lake Catholic Diocese. The foundation had until 5 p.m. on Thursday -- a deadline set by the Provo Municipal Council on April 3 -- to buy the building at a cost of about $1.3 million. The foundation said it showed up with the money in escrow; however, because of what they described as a software glitch, the deal did not close.

Tommy George, property manager for the Catholic church said that Landmark Partners had been "pretty darned fair" with the foundation because they were willing to, "out of the goodness of their hearts ... give them a shot."

The development firm has until May 31 to close the deal.

Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake said that the church was "very pleased" with the sale of the building to Landmark Partners. He said the diocese was "fine with the foundation (buying the property), but they have not yet come up with the money."

The Diocese has been trying to sell the building to fund the construction of a new chapel in Orem; however, it was hampered by a historic landmark designation placed on the property by Provo.

Mayor Lewis K. Billings brokered a deal during the April 3 municipal council meeting between the preservation foundation and Landmark Partners who wished to develop the property. Landmark had the first option to buy the property; however, a company representative said during the council meeting that it was more than willing to step aside and allow for the preservation of the building.

The deal that Billings brokered had both parties agreeing that the city would remove the historic landmark designation at 5 p.m. on April 19 if the foundation did not come with the money to pay for the building. Thus, if the foundation bought the building it would be preserved, and if it did not meet the deadline, developers would have the opportunity to buy the building.

Wayne Parker, chief administrative officer of Provo, said the deal that was brokered mostly dealt with the question of "how to make a decision without either party being seriously aggrieved."

Nathan Johnson can be reached at 344-2543 or njohnson@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.