The owners of the historic Coronado Hotel said Monday that they will continue to accept offers to buy the building until Dec. 10 to give Pima County time to consider buying the downtown housing complex.
The county asked for the delay on the eve of the original deadline for offers on the building, at the southeast corner of North Fourth Avenue and East Ninth Street. It's now known as the Coronado Hotel Apartments, and it houses low-income seniors. The building has been up for sale for more than a month with an asking price of $670,000.
Last week, Pima County Supervisor Richard ElÃas questioned the sale, which would not guarantee that the property remain affordable housing. ElÃas and other public officials and affordable-housing advocates were concerned about the tenants, who would be given a year to move out.
On Monday, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry sent a letter asking the Downtown Tucson Partnership to postpone the scheduled sale. The letter was sent to Larry Hecker, former chair of the Downtown Tucson Partnership board, which now manages the Downtown Development Corp., the building's owner.
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By late Monday afternoon, the partnership had agreed to extend the deadline for all offers to Dec. 10, said Glenn Lyons, the partnership's executive director.
That will give the county and any other interested parties time to make an offer, Lyons said. The five offers already submitted will still be considered or could be altered and resubmitted, he said.
Lyons speculated that the partnership board would meet to consider all of the offers within a week after the new deadline.
Huckelberry requested the extra time to allow the Pima County Housing Commission and Board of Supervisors to review a county plan or proposal to buy the building using 2004 bond funds to keep it as housing for low-income and disabled people.
"We would also need time to make appropriate arrangements with the city of Tucson or possibly nonprofit organizations regarding facility rehabilitation and management," Huckelberry wrote in the letter. "We are hopeful that the county will be able to assist in preserving this asset for the long-term housing needs of the community."
The city hasn't discussed its potential role in such an arrangement, but an update on the Coronado Hotel is scheduled for discussion during the study session portion of tonight's City Council meeting.
Even though the city and county haven't formally discussed a potential joint arrangement, management and rehabilitation of affordable housing is well within the city's scope, said Albert ElÃas, director of the city's Department of Housing and Community Development.
"Those are roles in which we have some expertise and some resources," Albert ElÃas said.
The city could apply for federal funding for building rehabilitation, he said.
Policies in the city's general plan and in the downtown housing affordability plan support preservation and enhancement of affordable housing downtown, Albert ElÃas said.
"I don't feel like this would be going contrary to that," he said of the county's proposal.
Given that affordable housing downtown is a goal the city, county and Downtown Tucson Partnership share, it is worth consideration, City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich said.
"I don't think any of us want to see affordable housing lost," Uhlich said. Using federal funding for the building would be a "cost-effective way of making sure we hold on to units that are affordable, because it's expensive to re-create affordable housing," she said.
About $1.5 million is left in the affordable-housing portion of the 2004 bond plan, which was intended to buy foreclosed homes and turn them into affordable housing, Richard ElÃas said.
"This is an emergency situation," he said. "The big thing is preservation of affordable housing. It's absolutely critical, maybe even more critical than adding new affordable housing. You can't lose what you have."
If the 42-unit hotel is sold for $670,000, it breaks down to about $16,000 per unit, which is a great deal, Richard ElÃas said.
County Supervisor Ramón Valadez said he supports the concept of the county buying the building and retaining affordable housing there. He said he hopes the county can iron out some of the details to make it work.
The low cost per unit makes it a good price, Valadez said.
"I think we can do something good with funds that were intended for that purpose anyway."
