A San Diego wind tunnel that saw its owner default on loans and lose the property to a financier, who sold it to the city within 24 hours, continues to make headlines. The tunnel was repurposed as a "housing navigation center" for the homeless and operates as such at this moment. Read more about it in Bust in Boomtown!
However, the San Diego City Council appears to have purchased the wind tunnel based on an appraisal that does not hold up to the scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), when it spent seven million dollars back in 2018. At first sight, the price seemed well in line with an informal appraisal from 2016 that valued the real estate at $22 million — $11 million in the property and $11 million in “furniture, fixtures and equipment.” But downtown real estate experts appraise the site at closer to $3 million — the cost of the vacant land — assuming the building would be a tear-down due to its unusual characteristics.
San Diego has contracted a firm to do another third party appraisal, one that will comply with all HUD norms. Read about it in the San Diego Union-Tribune.