The Qualex building — purchased 15 years with $3.6 million culled from Manteca property owners that pay taxes into the now defunct redevelopment agency — might finally end up benefitting the public.
But instead of a new police station as a previous council that also wore RDA board member hats envisioned in 2006 or as a homeless navigation center the current council pursued until dropping the idea last year, the 55,000-square-foot building might be purchased by Manteca Unified as a district warehouse.
The Manteca City Council is meeting Tuesday in a closed door session regarding the property.
The city under state law never owned the property per se. The RDA did. The separation required under the 1950s RDA law did allow elected city councils to govern RDAs and city staff to do double duty as the RDA staff.
When the RDAs were dissolved statewide in 2010 to divert property tax revenue back to various local taxing agencies, oversight boards were created to dispose of RDA property that was not encumbered with a viable project.
Manteca is believed to be the last city in the state that still has RDA property it needs to sell.
The law requires it be auctioned off to the highest bidder with the proceeds split between local taxing agencies based on tax rates that were in place when the RDA was formed to divert a segment of property taxes away for schools, the city, and other districts to fight blight through economic development as well as build affordable housing.
However, state law also provides if a government agency wants to acquire it for use they can do so before it goes out to bid by paying the price of a market appraisal that the oversight board has done.
The last such appraisal in early 2020 put the market value at $1,125,000 for the property at 555 Industrial Park Drive.
If that appraisal is still correct today the district could acquire the property for $1,125,000. It would then receive its share of the proceeds which is just under 51 percent. That would make the net cost to the district to purchase the property $563,000.
It was determined the city’s to buy the Qualex building and make sure it passed code for upwards of 300 people to sleep in as well as remodel, add bathrooms and a kitchen, create needed space for various function, as well as add air conditioning and heating could cost as much as $17 million.
That type of expensive work would not be needed if it was used as a warehouse. It is how the city had been using it to a degree since the RDA bought it in 2006.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
