City authorities suspended a "demolition by neglect" investigation of the condemned Liberty Warehouse on Wednesday, after the historic building's owner pledged to make repairs.

A public-comment meeting scheduled for Thursday was called off after Liberty LLC, a subsidiary of Greenfire Development, submitted the pledge in writing.

"They are intending to make the necessary repairs to stabilize the site," Planning Director Steve Medlin said.

According to a city ordinance, if repairs are not done within six months, the investigation resumes.

"And we go from there," Medlin said.

Details on the repairs await an engineering study that Greenfire has commissioned of the 1930s-vintage structure's condition, he said.

Liberty Warehouse, between Rigsbee Avenue and Foster Street at Durham Central Park, has been condemned since part of its roof collapsed in May. Greenfire Development bought the former tobacco-auction house in 2006 for $3.5 million. Company executives have talked about making renovations, but never disclosed plans, while renting space there to about 35 tenants.

Condemnation forced those tenants to seek new quarters, and shut down the city-owned Hill Pavilion for the Arts, a metal-casting facility that adjoins the Liberty Arts sculpture studio inside the warehouse.

"Demolition by neglect" means letting a building deteriorate by neglecting its upkeep. The provision is aimed at saving historic landmarks.

The Liberty is the last of more than a dozen tobacco auction houses that once operated just north of downtown. The Durham market closed in 1987 and other warehouses have since been demolished, but Liberty was converted to multiple uses and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Durham law requires owners of historic landmarks to keep their properties in good repair. Faulty roofs, ineffective waterproofing, defective weather protection, or "deterioration that has a detrimental effect on the surrounding historic district, or on the special character of the historic landmark" are among violations listed in the city's development ordinance.

The owner of a property found to be in a state of demolition by neglect may be required to make repairs and pay fines.