The City Council on Monday will consider hiring two private brokers to sell nine city-owned properties worth a combined $32.4 million.
Mayor Jerry Sanders is proposing that brokers Grubb & Ellis and Burnham handle the sales of commercial properties that his Real Estate Assets Department deemed to be in excess of the city’s needs. Included in the batch of properties are the World Trade Center, a Border Patrol facility in San Ysidro, a downtown office building, and several vacant lots.
If approved, Grubb & Ellis will handle sales of two office buildings and two properties used for ground leases, which have a combined appraised value of about $25 million. Burnham would be charged with selling five vacant properties with a total appraised value of $7.4 million.
Sanders said the firms were selected after they submitted the lowest sales commission bids out of the five companies that qualified. A bidding process was included for each type of commercial property the city intends to sell. A separate selection process will be conducted to find brokers for the city’s excess residential properties, Sanders said.
Real Estate Assets Director Jim Barwick said he expects the properties to be put on the market within 30 to 60 days, pending the council’s approval Monday.
Sanders’ has estimated that the city will sell about $20 million of property annually for five years to raise $100 million for improving the city’s dilapidated infrastructure.
The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. in the council chambers, located at 202 C St. downtown.