J Magazine Winter 2019
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Downtown Investment Authority turned<br />
down the offer.<br />
An appraisal said the property was<br />
worth $180,000. That was an incredible<br />
number given the fact that the city bought<br />
it in 1994 for $34,300 and that three<br />
bidders offered just $3,000, $9,000 and<br />
$10,000.<br />
How the building could be worth<br />
$180,000 was a mystery given that the<br />
roof had collapsed and the interior was a<br />
mess.<br />
So faced with that disparity between<br />
an appraisal and three legitimate offers,<br />
the committee backed down. There was<br />
a concern that the city was being lowballed.<br />
But when an appraisal differs from<br />
real bid prices, which number should get<br />
higher priority? That’s obvious, cash in<br />
hand gets priority.<br />
What if the city sold the property for<br />
one dollar? So what? Instead, a $700,000<br />
investment was turned down.<br />
Developer Rafael Caldera told the Financial<br />
News and Daily Record, “That’s it<br />
for me. This is going [Continued on page 95]<br />
WINTER <strong>2019</strong> | J MAGAZINE 91
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