Mesa staff recommend buying two downtown properties from Maricopa County Community College District for $4.73 million

City staff told the Mesa City Council on Oct. 9 that they are recommending the city buy two properties from the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCD) in downtown Mesa for a combined $4,730,000.

The recommendation covers a 33,000-square-foot condominium at 145 North Centennial (the fourth-floor unit above a city-owned garage) and a two-story building at 165 North Centennial. Lisa Davis, the city’s real estate manager, told the council that the fourth-floor condominium appraised at $4,080,000 and that 165 North Centennial appraised at $650,000. The city’s presentation indicated the two-story building has about $2.7 million in deferred maintenance and staff expects it would be demolished and converted to low-water landscaping or held for future redevelopment.

Why it matters: The properties sit adjacent to Mesa’s convention center, the…