The Tubac Fire District tower in Rio Rico, AZ has four tenants, and a value that makes it a tempting acquisition. NogalesInternational.com reports that the governing board is considering selling the 150-foot site.
Back in 2018, American Tower had asked to buy it for $3.5 million. However, Capital Telecom Consultant, Thomas Waniewski suggested that the offer was far too low. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile all occupy the current tower and pay over $300,000 in annual rent. Using a multiplier of 17 (give or take) Waniewski put a $5.23 million price tag on the structure.
The five member board voted to look into the matter, but did not commit to a sale. Under the present arrangement, Tubac collects 60 percent of the rental fees, approximately $185,000, with the rest going to American Tower, manager of the site. The loss of this income was cited as a concern by various board members.
“It’s a good time to sell. There’s not a lot of supply,” said Waniewski, “But if the district waits a few years to sell they could potentially lose $1 million in value.” Fire Chief Cheryl Horvath also discussed the need to replace their aging firehouse. Funds generated from a tower sale would give rebuilding and modernizing efforts a big boost.
November 7, 2019
Reader Interactions