The Tucson Veterans of Foreign Wars building at 124 E. Broadway in 1965. A recent city staff report says the property might be worth as much as $830,000 if the land were vacant.
A piece of downtown history, the former Access Tucson building, could go up for sale by the end of the year.
The Tucson City Council will consider on Tuesday putting the 68-year-old, 13,720-square-foot building and a 4,235-square-foot parking lot just west of the building up for sale on the open market, with the hope of collecting at least $580,000.
The sale comes with one rather serious caveat β the city wants to place a historic preservation and conservation restrictions on the sales terms, preventing the two-story structure built for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1948 from being torn down by the buyer. The restriction would also limit changes to the exterior of the building, but would allow interior changes.
The city acquired the building in 1991 and the adjacent parking lot in 1998.
The building has been determined to be eligible for listing on the state and national registers of historic places by the State Historic Preservation Office.
The building, where the second-floor ballroom was converted into two film production studios, was occupied by the Access Tucson and Channel 12 staff, but the city closed the facility after giving a media contract to Creative Tucson in 2015.
Councilman Steve Kozachik, who represents the ward where the building is located, says he has already spoken to two builders interested in the property.
βBoth have good ideas in what would fit in with what is happening downtown,β he said. However, Kozachik said he will ask the City Council to consider a mechanism other than the standard method for selling the property.
He said the city would benefit from reviewing the proposals a possible buyer for the site has for the building, not just how much they are offering for the property.
Developers should βshow us your visions, not just your checkbook,β he said.
Ron Schwabe with Peach Properties sees a lot of potential for the property, noting the city is selling prime real estate downtown at the right time.
βAnything downtown is attractive,β Schwabe said.
The possible restriction on the property would reduce the overall value of the property, but Schwabe said the building is in good condition, ready for a new use.
A city staff report cites a May 2014 appraisal stating the two parcels are worth $580,000 with the building remaining in place, but that if the land were vacant, the property might be worth as much as $830,000.
The same report notes a buyer may be eligible for tax breaks with a historic designation.
Assistant City Manager Albert Elias said if the plan to sell the property is approved by the City Council, it could take up to a year to finalize the sale, and even longer before a private buyer could begin renovations inside .
City staff is recommending to the council that it sell the building through a bidding process. The city has spent about $174,000 maintaining the building during the last four years.
