CLEVELAND, Ohio - A deal has been reached Thursday to potentially save the $140 million Quicken Loans Arena transformation.

Greater Cleveland Congregations withdrew petitions challenging the arena deal asking for a referendum vote. In a press release, GCC said Cuyahoga County is committed to mental health and substance abuse crisis centers.

A letter from Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish to representatives of United Pastors in Mission does not specify the county will build anything new.

"As much as we have done, we recognize there is much more to do, and we are committed to doing more throughout the County (including pursuing additional facilities and services for substance abuse and mental health crises), subject to the availability of resources and determinations of the best practice to follow," Budish wrote in the letter, which the county sent to cleveland.com.

"With respect to mental health services, we historically provide a very significant subsidy to the ADAMHS Board ($40 million this past year), which in turn supports a wide range of mental health services. And as I described, we are also engaged in many other efforts."

The statements came Thursday after a press conference and a related protest planned were canceled. The groups later rescheduled, and Greater Cleveland Congregations withdrew its petitions for a referendum.

GCC representatives say they are happy with the county's ongoing support of mental health and drug addiction services.

"GCC applauds the expressed commitment from County Executive Armond Budish, through mediators, to mental health and substance abuse crisis centers, which GCC has sought throughout its current campaign," the organization said in a release.

"This commitment represents a dramatic shift toward decriminalizing mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction," the GCC said. "Research and evidence suggest that the construction or rehab costs for at least two centers to be $10 million, with an annual costs of roughly $1.4 million per center. We recognize the county's intent to further research these investment costs and search for best practices."

GCC had asked for a dollar-for-dollar match of the $140 million for neighborhood investments.

In January, when the organization announced its opposition, Budish said he shared the GCC's concerns "over the critical needs facing our community."

But he said the county's annual investment of hundreds of millions of dollars to social services, high quality pre-kindergarten and economic development far exceeds any matching dollar amount requested by the GCC.

The county and GCC had been in talks about the need to create mental health centers to treat those who may have been placed in jail since the transformation was announced eight months ago and throughout the referendum process, Rev. Jawanza Colvin of the GCC said Thursday.

He said three things led to the agreement - the ruling this month by the Ohio Supreme Court that the referendum could go forward, the likely loss of an NBA All-Star game and the decision by Gilbert to pull out of the deal.

Gilbert's announcement led to widespread anger at GCC for derailing the transformation, which would have resulted in no new taxes and would have led to jobs and an extended lease for the Cavs.

Colvin said that after Gilbert's announcement Bishop Larry Macon and C.J. Matthews of United Pastors in Mission contacted him and GCC co-chair Pastor Richard Gibson and offered to mediate the discussion with the county.

"They said we need to sit down and discuss how to make this happen and get through all the politics," Colvin said.

He said he didn't regret pursuing the referendum because the need for mental health facilities for those who may be jailed instead was primary.

"This would not have happened without our faith communities coming together," he said. "This is an expressed demonstration of what happens when people of faith across racial and religious demographics come together and decide to do what is in the best interests of everyone."