ZACHARYTAYLOR
BOERNE– Two former city buildings remain up for grabs, but no progress on the sale was made after the City Council convened Tuesday night.
Kendall County commissioners announced their intentions to buy the former city Public Works building at 400 E. Blanco Road during a June 21 Commissioners Court meeting yet negotiations with the city don’t seem to have concluded.
“We know we need space, and many of us have had an opportunity to look at this building,” County Judge Shane Stolarczyk said. “I think the price it’s being offered for is a huge tax savings to the citizens. We know what Boerne property costs nowadays, and what the city is offering it to us at is a significant discount.”
During the special budget workshop in June, Stolarczyk said the county had been in negotiations with city officials to buy the building, tacking a nearly $1.85 million price tag to the structure.
However, city officials failed to make any formal announcement on the sale of the property after Tuesday’s executive session.
The former municipal utility site was the first landing pad for Das Greenhaus – a nonprofit business incubator born from the Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corp.’s long-range plan – but the nonprofit’s founders realized the building needed significant repairs and cosmetic updates.
An agreement between Das Greenhaus and Boerne officials was inked last year which required the nonprofit to make at least $500,000 in improvements to the building in its first two years at the location.
However, when an initial inspection of the former city hub revealed renovations would run roughly $1.3 million, Das Greenhaus leaders sought a new home for the startup – eventually moving to a turn-key property at 7 Upper Balcones Road.
This left the property up for grabs – something county officials wasted little time taking advantage of.
“It’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out for Das Greenhaus, but it works out for us,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian said. “It’s close in proximity (to the Kendall County Courthouse), and it doesn’t seem like it needs a lot of work for what we need. So, I think it’s a good thing.”
This isn’t the only property the city has on the market, however, as its neighbor is also being toured by prospective buyers.
The sale of the old city hall building at 402 E. Blanco Road has been a long time coming as the sale was marketed as a means to help pay for the new city hall building resurrected in 2018.
A third attempt to hire a broker was made by city officials just over a year ago, which resulted in the hiring of commercial real-estate broker JLL inc.
While the agreement was inked with JLL last winter, the 10,300-squarefoot building, which sits on more than 2 acres, just hit the market within the past 60 days.
In October of 2021 the city council approved a resolution allowing City Manager Ben Thatcher to begin the process of finding a firm to advertise the sale.
The former city hall building was replaced by the new building, which houses Boerne’s city hall and utilities, after city officials approved a $22 million seven-year tax note after residents petitioned and successfully stopped a certificate of obligation bond to fund the construction. While the building was criticized for its size and cost, city officials spoke publicly about the building meeting future needs of the city rather than building for immediate demand.
During that 2021 meeting, the city manager’s assistant, Nick Montagno, appraised the structure at a market value of $2.54 million. Boerne Communications Director Chris Shadrock said the old city hall, which used to be a schoolhouse, has been fully vacated, and the three trailers on the campus have been removed, completely readying the property for sale.
This isn’t the first time the city hall has hit the market as it was put up for sale in 2020 after council members approved an agreement with Cushman & Wakefield U.S. Inc. to sell the property.
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