Although some mayoral candidates (notably Pat Ahumada) have taken Da Mayor Tony Martinez to task for allowing the city to pay real-estate property owners G and L Company and Abraham Galonsky $2.3 million for the Casa Del Nylon building and property, it now appears that Ahumada had ample room to complain about the appraisal when it was performed and did nothing.
The appraisal was completed on December 2010, five months before Ahumada left office and Martinez took over. As such, it is doubtful that Ahumada did not know that the appraisal on the building had been done and the price quoted. (To enlarge, click on graphics.)One of our three readers pointed out that the city – through its Traffic Department Director Robert Esparza – contacted the property owners months before the appraisal was done and asked them if they would consider selling the building to the city. Esparza told the owners that the city was considering building a parking lot across the new Multimodal Transportation Station being constructed at the time.
When the property owners said they would sell, Esparza got the approval of the city to pay Rapid Appraisal Services of San Benito to do the appraisal. The appraisal was completed before December 1, 2010. Martinez did not take office until May 2011.
Ahumada has bought full-page ads in the local daily saying that the 36,000 square-foot site two blocks from the Gateway Bridge was not worth more than $700,000 at most. He also questions the appraisal done for the city by Rapid Appraisal Services."It wasn't us that went to the city to try to sell our property," Galonsky told El Rrun-Rrun at the time the story on the sale broke into cyberspace. "The city had been after us to sell it for months and Mr. Esparza came back to us again after Martinez was mayor to see if we were still interested in selling it based on the appraisal done when Pat (Ahumada) was mayor."
One must remember that Galonsky and Ahumada were partners in development at one time and were pushing for the approval of a residential and commercial Banco District Development Plan using UTB-TSC's ITEC an an anchor for development off Mexico Blvd.
In 2007, less than two months after he became mayor, Ahumada appointed Galonsky to be one of his "advisors" and also to the city’s Capital Improvements Advisory Committee (CIAC). Galonsky contributed $500 to Ahumada’s campaign.
As a double appointee, Galonsky met with a representative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a member of Ahumada’s team of advisors to discuss millions of dollars in funding for home construction.
Ahumada told the City Commission that between 200 and 300 houses a year used to be built here with HUD money, but that the number is currently down to 10.
Ahuamda at the time told the local daily there was a difference between "compadres"and "volunteers."
“Compadrismo is bad when done for benefit or gain. Compadre-volunteers are welcomed,” Ahumada said. “They are not doing deals to benefit themselves.”So how was it that as Mayor Ahumada – who bragged about being a hands-on mayor – didn't realize in 2010 that the city paid-for appraisal done on his friend's downtown property was overpriced as he now claims?
There wouldn't be any hint of political convenience to his public outrage at the sale today, would there?
As immersed as he was in real estate (he is a licensed appraiser), surely he had a gander at the appraisal back then and went along with it since he had appointed one of the the owners of the property as a member of his kitchen cabinet.
11 comments:
They rejected the appraisal when it was done, if memory serves me correctly. So this post and the comments of Tony Martinez and Abe are misleading to say the least. Don't support or vote for the guy, but don't make things up and cover up for one of the worst deals in recent memory. No chinches Montoya.
By the way Montoya id love to see where Pat was "partners" with Galonsky...once again you have published lies and ridicule. You are pathetic.
RM
The revelation was EXPOSED at a later date .
Who was mayor when the property was purchased and facilitated the deal? That is the key question, not trying to deflect blame. Montoya, are you working for Martinez?
It is what it is Anony 4:34p. The appraisal cannot be ignored. They took the appraised value. What don't you understand. It was done when Pat was Mayor, not when Tony was Mayor. The implication is that Tony got Galonsky a sweetheart deal on the Casa de Nylon. This is obviously false. The amounts were set, only the transaction had to be concluded. It didn't matter who was Mayor. Traffic Dept wanted the property. They came to Galonsky. How do you not see that this Casa de Nylon purchase is a non-issue? Nothing other than an attack on Tony by desperate individuals. This is similar to the non-issue regarding McHale's alleged "porn" blog. Jerry's poor taste in the arts has devolved into the promotion of pornography, when BWC has posted nudes and promotes a nudist beach and DPM thinks he's some kind of Cyper Pimp with the DPM Girls peppering his blog. Sex sells, huh DPM? Even if your just talking pornography, it helps with the hits, eh? Non-issue. Talk about the Domes, the East Loop, The West Loop, Downtown Development..........amateurs!!
Tony Tormenta's pisses away tax monies for a property worth 700 g's.
Ahumada's was a pawn to Abraham Galonsky and Tony Martinez is also funded by Galonsky. Easy to see how Casa de Nylon could pop up in either administration. Use of the property changed from parking under Ahumada, to a give away real estate property for Juliet Garcia's effort to save herself from losing the remainder of her "kingdom".
This deal stinks! There should have been at least one other independent appraisal.
Montoya's World: Everybody, including him, lies
At April 6, 2015 at 6:33 PM
Your argument is nebulous bullshit. The appraisal was clearly rigged, even a child can see this. Because Martinez's closed his eyes does not make it clean. He should asked for at least two more appraisales, as is common practice. If you want to clear his name, have him buy it back with his own money for 1 million at half price.
You got it al revés. Da mayor owes his Ass to Igor Galzonasky. He is the bag-man for da mayor .
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