The city’s desire to build a parking garage in Uptown took a major step forward recently.
During the Tuesday, March 24, council meeting, council approved the purchase of one of two lots needed to build the garage, located on the parcels of 430 and 460 Forest Road. Council gave staff the green light to buy the property at 430 Forest Road for $480,000. A contract between the city and property owner Daniel Saunders will now be drawn up.
The fair market value for the parcel was identified through two separate professional valuations. The parcel was valued at $375,000 and $380,000, respectively. With a purchase price of $480,000, council members asked City Manager Justin Clifton to explain the $100,000 difference.
“Every purchase is a little different,” Clifton said. “Sometimes you’re looking for a parcel and there are 15, 20 or 30 that will work. In that situation, appraised value is very meaningful. But in a different situation, whether you’re a public buyer or a private person, if you want the one parcel on the hill and the person isn’t selling it, if you want it, you’re going to pay more than it’s worth.”
The property in question was not for sale when the city approached the owner.
“So in some situations where location is key, it’s worth more than the appraised value?” Councilwoman Jessica Williams asked.
“To us, yes,” Clifton replied.
With no audience members allowed in chambers as part of social distancing, Councilman Scott Jablow asked Clifton to explain why the purchase needed to be approved that night as opposed to possibly waiting so the public could speak.
“I would not characterize this purchase as a matter of urgency, per se, and certainly there is no deliberate attempt to agendize this while we are otherwise not taking public comments,” Clifton said. “The direction to acquire this property goes back to last December.”
In February, the majority of council gave direction on the type of parking structure it wanted to see and the Forest Road properties were chosen as the site.
Clifton also said that with economic uncertainty due to the long-term impacts of COVID-19, it was still important to buy the land now because it could be sold to someone else if the city waited. But if needed, construction of a parking garage could be delayed indefinitely, though the city will still own the land.
In late February Council then directed staff to create a design for a two-story, three-level parking structure to be built on those purchased lots. The bottom story would be below ground level or subgrade, and above would be ground level with uncovered parking on the roof or third level. In all, it would look like a one-story structure of nearly 12 feet in height.
The cost of the 272-space garage is estimated at $11.5 million, which includes construction and land acquisition. Once a design and an additional cost estimate is complete, council will then vote on whether or not to approve construction of the garage.
“Let’s finally do something and let’s not kick the can down the road,” Vice Mayor John Martinez said in February. “That’s what we’ve been doing for 20 years. Let’s get a garage done.”
