The Lubbock City Council on Thursday voted to purchase a building for $371,395.94 when the taxable value is listed as $120,579.
The building at 1414 Avenue K is right next door to Citizens Tower.
The city has earmarked $63,000,000 for the renovation of Citizens Tower, formerly known as the Omni Building, which was purchased in late 2014 to become the new home of city hall.
The parking garage that came with Citizens Tower is planned for demolition and the property at 1414 Avenue K will be used for parking.
Property tax records indicate that the building 8,360 square feet, and the total land on which it sits is 8,750. The taxable value of the land without the building was listed as $17,500.
The current owner is Texas Four Bar Investments.
Former Mayor Glen Robertson is described in public records as the manager of Texas Four Bar.
Robertson said he purchased the building after the city council in 2014 said “no” to purchasing it. He also said he had no intention of selling it to the city but more recently he was threatened by the city with eminent domain.
He quoted city officials as saying, “If you don’t sell it, we’ll go to condemnation.”
Robertson said the building was professionally appraised at $300,000 when he purchased it and that’s the price he paid.
He also said he made $40,000 of improvements to the building. Additionally, he said he had to make repairs to the roof.
Robertson admitted that he wanted to make a 5 percent profit on the sale.
EverythingLubbock.com has reached out to current Mayor Dan Pope for comment.
Pope provided a brief statement:
For the proposed building purchase in question, we have a valid appraisal done in 2015 that values the property at $300,000 The current owner has made improvements in the property exceeding $50,000 since purchasing the property.
The vote was unanimous with no discussion.