Amarillo City Council is set to consider selling property acquired in 2022 for a price of $1.3 million, the same price the city paid when they first purchased the property.

The property, a block of land on Grant Street located just south of the new Santa Fe Depot Pavilion, was initial bought in the hopes it could be used for storage for the Civic Center.

“I think, especially if we’re going to expand the size of the civic center, and we’re hopefully going to do that, then that need is going to be even bigger and more pressing,” said then-mayor Ginger Nelson in September 2022 during debate on the purchase of the property.

Nelson’s hopes to expand the Civic Center complex were dashed in October of that year, when Judge William Sowder ruled that the city had violated state law when it sought to utilize tax anticipation notes to fund civic center improvements.

Cole Stanley, who was serving as City Councilman Place 1 when the property was purchased, was the only vote against the purchase. At the time, he questioned the purchase price, saying that it was a “premium,” a characterization Nelson took issue with.

At the time, it was reported that the property had recently been appraised at a value of $1.1 million, though Nelson defended the city’s price, noting that another buyer had offered a similar amount.

However, it appears that Stanley, who is now Mayor, has been proven correct. Over a year after the purchase of the property for $1.3 million, the council is now set to approve a sell of the property to JM Conkling, LLC for the same price the city had initially bought the property. Notably, JM Conkling was reported (but not confirmed) to be the other interested buyer.

The item is on the agenda for the upcoming June 11th regular meeting, set to begin at 3:00 pm. The meeting will be held on the third floor of Amarillo City Hall. The full agenda and agenda packet for the meeting can be found at this link.