Carbon County officials will have to continue looking for places to expand office space.

This week, Commissioner William O'Gurek said plans to purchase the Hooven building and the former Gulf gas station in Jim Thorpe have fallen through."Right after we approved a proposal for an appraisal of the buildings (in March), we were informed that the owner was selling it to someone else," O'Gurek said. "Our hope to make it a government center went by the wayside when the owner decided to accept the offer from a different party."The county had hired Person Agency Inc. of Lehighton to do the appraisals at a cost of $1,500, but held off on getting the appraisals done once it learned of the possible sale.At the time, the commissioners said they were exploring the option of expanding because current offices in the courthouse, annex and Susquehanna Street complex are outgrowing their space.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, chairman, said the county wants to find something close to the current buildings because employees in the offices that need more space use the courthouse often for hearings and other things.The problem, he said, is that there is not much space available in downtown Jim Thorpe that the county can purchase.