City of Amarillo could sell downtown property, barely break even

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — The Amarillo City Council will consider selling a piece of downtown property for the exact same price the city purchased it for 18 months ago.

The building is located at the corner of S. Grant Street and SE 5th Avenue.

The city purchased 501 S. Grant, 509 S. Grant, and 517 S. Grant for $1.3 million in December 2022.

The plan at the time was for the Civic Center to use it for storage.

Then City Councilman Cole Stanley voted against the purchase because he thought the price per square foot was too high.

“Why are you guys for this at such a premium? $1.3M is premium for that building,” said Stanley during a council meeting on September 7, 2022 (Agenda Item 3.O).

Mayor Ginger Nelson disagreed with Stanley’s view of the price.

“I do not agree with the statement that we’re paying a premium. We are paying the asking price,” said Nelson. “I think it is important for us to control land that is next to other land that the city is developing and has a use for. This is a good deal.”

Deputy City Manager Andrew Freeman, who recommended the purchase, said it had been appraised at $1.1M in April 2022.

Council voted 4-1 to buy the property.

The city was one of two interested buyers in 2022. Stanley said during the Sept. 2022 meeting that JM Conkling, LLC wanted to offer the same amount as the city.

It looks like Stanley was right in 2022. And Conkling could still get the property for that price.

According to the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, council will consider selling it to Conkling for $1.3 million.

The potential uses for the property proposed by Conkling are:

• Apartments
• Men’s clothing store
• Winery
• Event space
• Art Gallery