Coley Ward Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, April 7, 2010

On Tuesday, the state of Arizona sold three of its downtown Tucson properties at auction.

The largest parcel went to Geoff Shephard, president of Arizona Autopark, who paid $652,000 for a 46,569-square-foot lot on Toole Avenue, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.

Shephard said he would continue to use the lot, which the city has rented since 1987, for parking.

“We’ll be offering a very good deal to city employees – the cheapest in downtown,” he said.

This is the second time that Shephard’s company has owned the parking lot; years ago he sold it to the state – one of 37 properties that the Arizona Department of Transportation bought between 1986 and 1991 for a proposed expansion of the Aviation Parkway corridor through downtown.

The city’s easement over six of the properties expired in February, and control of the lands reverted to the state.

Now ADOT is divesting itself of its Tucson properties.

Developer Steve Fenton and Peach Properties’ Patricia Schwabe bought the other two lots sold at Tuesday’s auction.

Fenton paid $402,000 for a 17,358-square-foot lot at 35 E. Toole Ave. Previously, the building there was home to ArtWorks, an inner-city program for high school youths. Before that, it was called the Crane Plumbing Supply Warehouse.

Fenton said he would restore the building and use it as an “arts-related warehouse.”

The building might house artist studios or gallery space, he said.

Peach Properties paid $360,000 for an 18,375-square-foot lot at 119 E. Toole Ave. Once home to Baker Bros. Produce Warehouse, the building there was most recently occupied by RISE, a nonprofit social-service agency.

Both of the buildings bought by Fenton and Peach Properties have their warts.

In 2007, an Arizona Daily Star investigation documented fire damage to the ceiling of the Baker Bros. building and noted that the east and west sides of the warehouse had been condemned.

At the Crane Plumbing Supply Warehouse, there were extensive amounts of friable and non-friable asbestos, as well as substantial water damage to the roof and ceiling.

Schwabe said she would refurbish the Baker Bros. warehouse, then convert it into a restaurant.

“It needs a lot of work,” she said.

Both Peach Properties and Fenton have been aggressively buying downtown buildings since ADOT started selling them last year.

In October, Peach Properties paid $252,000 for Zee’s Warehouse, 1 E. Toole Ave., which is vacant but once was home to Zee Haag, an artist.

In November, Fenton paid $101,000 for the building that is home to Solar Culture, 31 E. Toole Ave., a gallery and music venue.

The next month, Fenton paid $512,000 for the building at 15-19 E. Toole Ave., which housed the rehearsal space of Salvador Duran, a Latin singer and flamenco guitar player, in addition to Astro Fab furniture makers and artist Jessica McCain’s studio. All have since moved out.

Both of the warehouses Fenton bought face a vacant lot where Pima County and the city of Tucson plan to build a new courthouse.

That project is on hold.

Seven properties went unsold at Tuesday’s auction.

The Gloo Factory, a nonprofit media-resource center at 106 E. Council St., was one of the properties that didn’t receive a bid.

Gloo Factory owner Dwight Metzger, who has been raising funds to buy the building but still has a way to go, said he was happy to live to fight another day.

“Maybe time is on our side,” Metzger said.

ADOT will continue to market the unsold properties, spokeswoman Teresa Welborn said.

“They’ll stay on the ADOT Web site on the page that says ‘properties for sale,’ ” she said.

If ADOT receives an offer for one of its remaining properties, it will trigger a 30-day clock. A second offer during that time will send the property to auction.

If no other offer is made, the original bidder can purchase the property.

Contact reporter Coley Ward at 807-8429 or cward@azstarnet.com