· Origin
Council approves contract to buy warehouse-district property for a possible new City Hall
The City Council approved a contract allowing the City to buy property near Grant and Johnson streets in the warehouse district. The Amarillo Hardware building was named as the primary candidate for City Hall. Reported estimates were about $12 million to relocate versus $17-39 million to renovate the existing City Hall.[1][2]
What the sources say
- ✓ Verified
In September 2020 the City Council approved a contract allowing the City to buy property near Grant and Johnson streets in the warehouse district; the Amarillo Hardware building was the primary candidate for a new City Hall, with only part of it to be renovated at first.[1]
- ✓ Verified
Reported September 2020 estimates: about $12 million to relocate to the Amarillo Hardware building versus $17 million to $39 million to renovate the existing City Hall.[1]
- Relocate
- $12,000,000
- Renovate existing low
- $17,000,000
- Renovate existing high
- $39,000,000
- ✓ Verified
Mayor Ginger Nelson: Mayor Ginger Nelson cited ongoing repairs to the current building and cost efficiency, saying 'it was important to us to take an existing building' and 'We thought that was a better use of taxpayer dollars.'[1]
- ⚠ Sources differ
Accounts differ on the scope and price of the warehouse-district purchase.
Reported value 1[1]
- Properties
- 5
- Description
- five properties and land
- Price
- not stated
NewsChannel10's September 2020 description of the contract.
Reported value 2[2]
- Properties
- 3
- Price
- $4,750,000
- Vote
- unanimous
- Seller
- Rio Canadian Rental Properties
Texas Scorecard (advocacy) report of the September 2020 vote; it also reported a combined tax appraisal of $974,464.
Reported value 3[3]
- Price
- $5,500,000
- Approx
- true
- Funding
- cash reserves
NewsChannel10's report of the November 17, 2020 council vote (dollar figure given as 'about 5.5 million').