SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to approve a much-debated settlement with developer Cisterra and lender CGA over the 101 Ash Street and Civic Center Plaza real estate deals.
The council voted 6-3 to approve the settlement that will transfer ownership of the properties to the city for around $132 million.
“This was not a decision my administration took lightly, but we came to this resolution after years of audits and investigations made it very clear that continuing litigation could never result in a perfect outcome for the City or its taxpayers,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “This settlement was the product of 18 months of mediation that enables us to fully exit an unfortunate business deal and gives us the certainty we need to plan the future of our Downtown Civic Core.”
The city agreed to lease the building in 2016, but wasn't able to use it because of asbestos and other issues.
The settlement -- besides transferring ownership of the former Sempra Energy headquarters at 101 Ash Street and the Civic Center Plaza, housing more than 800 city employees -- would refund the city $7.4 million in profits Cisterra made in its lease-to-own deal on the 101 Ash property, while allowing the company to keep its $6.2 million in profits from a similar deal with Civic Center Plaza.
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