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The north Pearl District industrial parcel eyed by developers this past fall for a potential emergency homeless shelter has been sold by the city of Portland to another interest.

The Bureau of Environmental Services announced Friday that the 14.48-acre parcel known as Terminal 1, at 2400 N.W. Front Ave., had been sold for $12.5 million to Lithia Motors.

Terminal 1 became the subject of scrutiny in late summer when a band of business interests tried to acquire it for use as a massive homeless shelter, to be operated jointly by public agencies. The plan was the brainchild of developers Dike Dame and Homer Williams, who were inspired by a similar shelter in Texas.

After the plan fell apart due to concerns about the shelter and other issues, the City Council voted in November to put the land up for sale. Portland developers project^ and Winkler Development were among the parties that submitted offers to buy the land.

Medford-based Lithia Motors 鈥� the fifth-largest auto retailer in the country, according to its proposal 鈥� plans to use the site to unite its scattered operations under one roof.

Lithia Motors stated in its proposal that it wished to have the Portlandia statue relocated from its current location at the base of the Portland Building to the Terminal 1 site, so it could 鈥�(welcome) seafarers and the world to our city. Portlandia could finally find a place to project both her strength and the confidence of the community.鈥�