The Mojave County Board of Supervisors has agreed to sell less than one acre of downtown property to Lake Havasu City. City officials will now make a decision on whether to purchase it.
For the past few months, county officials have been negotiating a potential sale of the 2200 block of Swanson Avenue across from Arizona State University’s Havasu campus. Dirt Lot was the former home of the county senior center in Havasu, which was eventually abandoned and demolished after the facility moved to 450 Acoma Boulevard.
Officials in Lake Havasu initially expressed interest in leasing the land from Mojave County, but last year began exploring the possibility of purchasing the land instead. If acquired, the land will be used to provide additional parking for visitors to the city’s downtown district and for ASU Havasu students.
“The city of Lake Havasu needs it,” Mojave County Deputy Attorney Ryan Esplin said at a board meeting Monday. “The county has owned it for some time… This seems like a win-win for both sides. Providing compensation to taxpayers for property sales, Lake He provides Havasu City with much-needed parking .”
According to Esplin, land can be sold to Havasu without a public auction if the land sells for more than 90% of its assessed value. City officials eventually agreed to a purchase price of $414,000 and his $2,500 cost in evaluating the land, according to county records.
The land sale was approved Monday by a unanimous decision by the Mojave County Board of Supervisors. The Lake Havasu City Council plans to vote on whether to approve the purchase at its meeting Tuesday. According to meeting documents, the $416,500 land purchase will come from Havasu’s general contingency fund.
