Former Mayor Pat Ahumada Reflects on City's Casa del Nylon Purchase

From the editor:  Yes, we've written many times about the ill-advised purchase of La Casa del Nylon for the exorbitant price of $2,300,000, a building now sitting in decay at 1305 E. Adams.  The fact is that our arrogant mayor, Tony Martinez, has never seen fit to attempt an explanation for this near criminal misuse of taxpayer dollars.  

The city obviously has no need or use for the building, but is now responsible for its maintenance and insurance.  City leaders are now comically scrambling to find uses for some of the buildings purchased during the City Commission's brain dead speculative real estate fiasco of 2012. 

The former  Mother of Perpetual Help Home at 519 E. Adams, purchased for $195,101, is now used for bicycle storage.  The skinny red brick building at 1700 Ringgold, bought for $100,000, is being remodeled at a tourist center.  Someone from Bean Ayala's staff will likely be available to answer tourist's questions as they approach Linear Park on E. 6th Street.  No use yet has been found for the Old National Guard Armory at 344 Porter Street, purchased for $431,200, or the San Fernando Building, bought for $315,000.

Just this morning, former Mayor Pat Ahumada contributed the comment below on La Casa del Nylon purchase. Ahumada, himself a former real estate auditor, provides some historical background and comparables:

Pat Ahumada May 11, 2014 at 8:18 AM

"You know what is even more sickening, is that the entire city commission went along with the mayor

Pat Ahumada

when he ramroded the purchase of the Nylon Building for $2.3 million, when it is not worth but $635,000 and the way I understand it, no one negotiated or even attempted to get a second opinion. The city purchased many buidlings to build the multimodal transportation facility and never it its' wildest dreams did it occur to pay the price that was paid for the Nylon Building to other property owners. I am sure they must feel sick about this deal that was ramrodded thru the commission. Stop and think, the Nylon Building has 37,000 sf, in need of a lot of maintenance and repairs, on a half city block of land and no parking. Compare this to the Chenito Building that has 50,000 sf of leasable space, built on a city block of land, with plenty of parking and sold for $650,000 sf. Or, compare the Greyhound Station with a city block of land that was purchased by Mike Belville for $450,000 and I can go on, but it is obvious this was beyond irresponsible and not protecting the city. I would not want these people running a Fortune 500 Company, because it would go broke in a NY minute. Let me make it clear, we cannot blame the owner of the property. The owner is going to ask and get all he can. The worst part Anonymous, aka Elite blogger, is that the city has no use for the building. My understanding also is that the city paid a commission to the mayor's partner for brokering or being part of the deal to purchase the property. What a conflict! And, they accused me of being a thief. Went all out to ruin my political career. Used the check incident during the campaign to discredit me. What a joke! And the joke is on the citizens. This is in response to Annonymous blasting me as a bad mayor, thief, and everything else he keeps whining about. This is another Imagine Brownsville deal for friends to benefit from public service. What a sham!"