The sluggish economy has forced Fran Salman and her husband, owners of Wilmarth Investments, to put on hold plans for an office building on the grounds of the former Cary Efficiency Inn.

But Salman said she isn’t giving up on her vision for the site, which once was a hub of police activity dating back to the 1980s. Plans for the development, which would be called the Trillium Center, have only been delayed, not destroyed, she said.

“We’re just on hold right now because of the economic problems and the difficulty of getting financing,” Salman said. “We’re waiting for the economy to turn around so we can move forward and look for potential tenants.”

The Salmans pitched the idea for the office building to the Cary Town Council early last year after buying the property, through their company, from its previous owner. At the time, Fran Salman assured the town she had no plans to keep the motel or replace it with more lodging.

The Cary News first reported the changing of hands of the property and the Salmans’ plans in a story published March 12, 2008.

Salman said her company continues to work with an architect on the project, which would be between 22,000 and 25,000 square feet in size. She said Wilmarth has also hired a real estate agent to market the site, which has been empty since the motel was torn down in August.

Salman said she would like to attract tenants offering services that would benefit the residents of a new assisted living facility near the intersection of East Chatham Street and Old Apex Road.

“We hopefully would like to target businesses who have services, such as medical equipment, tax preparers and physical therapy,” she said.

“I’m optimistic,” Salman said of the future of the project. “I think things will turn around in ’09. I think credit will loosen up, banks will start lending again, and we can get moving on this.”