County deal raises eyebrows. (Bexar County Commissioners Court's purchase of Vista Verde Plaza building criticized by local real estate brokers)

County deal raises eyebrows

Even as the Bexar County Commissioners Court is crowing about the good deal it made buying West Side office building Vista Verde Plaza for $3.2 million, or some $50 a square foot, many local real estate brokers are calling the purchase one of the worst transactions in recent memory.

"They overpaid for Vista Verde Plaza," says Steve Thomas with Senterra Development Corp., manager of NBC Plaza downtown. "It was a big mistake."

Built in 1986 by Vista Verde Joint Venture, a group of investors that includes local grocer and produce company owner Frank Sepulveda and real estate broker Bernard Lifshutz, Vista Verde Plaza includes 76,770 gross square feet of shell space or some 54,000 feet of usalbe feet, on 2.7 acres and stands five stories tall.

The property, which is slated to house the county's tax, community resources and public works offices, has been the center of controversy from the beginning.

Former Mayor Henry Cisneros pushed to build it in order to …