A Tuesday auction for a key commercial building in Baltimore's Patterson Park neighborhood was canceled after residents struck a deal to purchase it.

A group of six neighbors finalized a contract on Monday with lender M&T Bank, which was owed more than $790,000 on the property after the collapse of the Patterson Park Community Development Corp. The nonprofit had used it as a headquarters and rented out the first floor to a restaurant, which also closed.

The neighbors' group did not disclose the purchase price. Auctioneer Paul R. Cooper with Alex Cooper Auctioneers said the price for the property plus the liquor license and restaurant contents, sold by a different lender, was between $400,000 and $500,000.

Residents said they banded together because they see the building, at the corner of Baltimore Street and Linwood Avenue, as the neighborhood focal point. They've lined up interested tenants, including a restaurateur.

"We hope once more to provide a gathering place for this incredible community," they wrote in a note to neighbors.