Might the city of Durango be interested in acquiring Durango’s largest office building, the recently vacated 81,380-square-foot FIS Worldpay building near the Durango Mall?

An executive session, closed to the public, is on Durango City Council’s agenda for its meeting Tuesday. The closed session is listed as a discussion of the purchase, acquisition, lease or transfer of real property, specifically the Worldpay building at 150 Mercury Village Drive.

City spokesman Tom Sluis said no specific deal is on the table. Instead, city staff members are looking for general direction from city councilors about their interest in the building.

“If the councilors go into executive session, this will be the first time they have had the chance to discuss among themselves what, if any, interest they have in the Worldpay building,” Sluis said in an email to The Durango Herald.

Mayor Dean Brookie said he didn’t know about the executive session until the council agenda was released this week. He was unsure whether three councilors would vote to approve the closed session.

“That was a surprise to me to see it on the agenda. There’s an opportunity there, but I don’t think it’s anything that’s too exciting yet,” he said. “We have a lot of other needs right now. It’s certainly not on the top of our minds right now.”

The La Plata County Assessor’s Office lists the building’s value at $14.1 million and the land as worth $2.42 million. The initial investment to build the structure and for the land was $40 million.

Beyond a discussion about the Worldpay building, Brookie said councilors and the community need a broader discussion about redevelopment of the entire Durango Mall area, noting that half of the Durango Mall is unoccupied given the closure of the J.C. Penney store.

“It’s important for the community and the city to examine the area, and it goes beyond the (Worldpay) building,” Brookie said. “I think there’s opportunity for the entire area, including the mall, in combination with a number of the hotels that have been built down there that’s much more cohesive than what currently exists.”

Using the city’s recently acquired power to create urban renewal authorities for redevelopment, Brookie said he would prefer to explore an effort to re-create the area as a hub for private job creation.

“When you look at the possibility of job creation in that building, I would rather we look at a solution that fills that building with 400 new jobs as opposed to using it for a municipal complex,” he said.

And as the city continues to move to telecommuting, Brookie said it was important to assess whether the city could do with less office space in the future.

“So what’s the future of office needs for the city of Durango?” he said. “I think before we start spending, looking at new opportunities, we need to re-evaluate, like every other business in the country, how we conduct business in the future and how does that equate to square footage of office space we need.”

City Councilor Kim Baxter said she was unaware of an executive session called to discuss the Worldpay building, and, like Brookie, said the bigger issue was to discuss redevelopment needs more comprehensively – especially if ideas could be generated to provide more attainable housing.

“My understanding, this is just a kind of an exploratory conversation. If there is an opportunity, the last thing we want to do is miss out on it, and so we want to be prepared,” Baxter said of the executive session.

In the city’s Comprehensive Plan, the area is designated as a mixed-use area for residential, retail and office use. Any redevelopment idea that could incorporate more attainable housing for Durango, possibly using the city’s urban renewal authority, would be welcomed, she said.

City Council has asked for a facilities needs assessment for all its buildings, and with aging city buildings, it might be more economical to create a city campus for all its offices while redeveloping existing city property, such as the police headquarters, City Hall, the Carnegie Building and River City Hall into housing projects more attainable by the middle class.

“If we look at each of our buildings, we need to find out: What do they really need?” Baxter said. “What kind of work do they need to bring them up to useful standards? What does the future of housing for employees look like? What is the best use for those city buildings? We don’t have those answers right now, but we’ve asked the questions.”

It’s important, she said, to begin a conversation about the best use of money to make current city buildings “work for the community.”

“How can we make everything efficient and effective and also produce affordable housing and jobs? I think that if we could figure that one out, that would be great,” she said.

parmijo@durangoherald.com

No case law on discussing real estate behind closed doors

Durango City Council has scheduled a vote to hold a closed-door discussion concerning an acquisition of the Worldpay building, but no specific deal is on the table.

Is a closed session for a general discussion on a specific property legal?

Jeffrey A. Roberts, executive director Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, said there is no case law on the question “so it’s open to interpretation.”

He said in an email: “I wouldn’t be surprised if other public bodies use executive sessions to discuss potential real estate transactions even when a particular deal is not on the table to lessen the possible impact on price.”

The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition’s tip sheet on executive sessions says state law requires a public body to announce what kind of acquisition is under discussion – whether it is a purchase, lease, sale or other acquisition activity.

“Because of the effect that an announcement might have on the price of private property being purchased, the public body will likely not be required to identify the particular property under discussion,” the tip sheet says.

But that information has been disclosed: Councilors will discuss the Worldpay building if they vote to go into a closed meeting Tuesday.