Two appraisals commissioned by the city of Little Rock that examined property owned by a city employee put its market value at $85,000 and $65,000, according to internal records -- well below the $460,000 the city was prepared to pay until recently to purchase the property.
The Little Rock Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs had brought forward a resolution for the city board's consideration to purchase the 3.53-acre parcel at 3101 W. 32nd St., near the Pulaski County jail, in order to construct a homeless shelter and micro-home village at the site.
The property and its approximately 8,000-square-foot commercial building are owned by Rickey M. Evans Sr., who works in the same municipal department as a community development rehabilitation administrator.
One appraisal was returned to the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs in December and the other was returned in July, according to records the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
Earlier this month, after the purchase resolution had already been delayed once following a Democrat-Gazette inquiry, Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore pulled the item from the city board's agenda indefinitely after reviewing documents associated with the proposed purchase.
"The City will order two additional appraisals to help determine a viable purchase price," Moore told the mayor and city board members via email on Sept. 8. "As soon as the appraisals are finalized I will bring the item back before the City Board."
City records show a report from Ferstl Valuation Services dated Dec. 10, 2021, listed the as-is market value of the 32nd Street property as $85,000.
Additionally, a July report from MAC Valuation Group put the as-is market value of the property at $65,000.
In an introductory section, the report from MAC Valuation Group said, "The subject is pending sale for $450,000 as of the date of this report. The subject is not publicly listed for sale as of the date of this report."
Prior to the withdrawal of the resolution, documents prepared for the city board said Little Rock had offered $460,000; the property was listed for $499,000 and the cost approach appraisal value was $471,000, a memo from the city manager's office said.
The memo identified the American Rescue Plan Act as well as the HOME Investment Partnerships Program as funding sources for the proposed purchase.
According to records of the Pulaski County assessor's office, Evans bought the property in 2018 from the estate of Mitchell Wayne Bobrowski for $55,000. The assessor's office lists the property's appraised value as $47,300.
Kevin Howard, the director of the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs, said in a recent interview that Evans was not involved in conversations or decision-making related to the site of the proposed homeless shelter and micro-home village.
People might stay for three to six months in one of 100 planned micro-home units and work with a case manager while they transition to permanent housing, Howard said at the time while describing the plans for the 32nd Street property.
Moore, Howard and two Little Rock communications officials had not responded by Friday evening to detailed questions via email about the proposed purchase in light of the two prior appraisals.