Are the Wheels Coming Off?

This just in, from the El Paso Inc.

Borderplex Realty Trust, the company created by businessman William Sanders that owns some of El Paso’s most valuable real estate, is selling all of its assets.

In a notice sent to shareholders Thursday morning, the board of the real estate investment trust said it has entered into four sale agreements that “when completed, will result in the sale of all of the real estate assets of Borderplex.”

Those assets include Downtown’s tallest buildings – the Wells Fargo tower and One San Jacinto Plaza, formerly known as the Chase tower.

Whoa. The Borderplex Real Estate Investment Trust dropped its real estate interests in El Paso.

What’s that all about?

Did the REIT decide that now is the time to sell, because their real estate assets were not going to appreciate in value? I mean, it’s not like the billionaires decided that they need the money. For them, money is just a way to keep score.

The REIT, created by businessman William Sanders and other powerful local investors 12 years ago, was part of a private effort to remake Downtown El Paso. The plan, which involved the use of eminent domain, ran into significant opposition and was never implemented. Several years ago, execs changed the REIT’s strategy and began investing in other Texas cities.

“The importance of the plan was not the specifics of how the Downtown area of El Paso would be revitalized – the importance of the Downtown Plan was convincing people that Downtown could be revitalized,” Sanders told El Paso Inc. in November 2016.

The chair of the Borderplex board, William Kell, states in the notice to shareholders, “Bill Sanders and Jack Cardwell believed that Borderplex could be a catalyst for the preservation and revitalization of El Paso’s downtown, and the Borderplex Board believes that mission has been met.

“Over the last twelve years, Borderplex has played a pivotal role in making possible various revitalization efforts by others while also preserving some of El Paso’s most iconic Downtown assets.”

Also, they bulldozed some iconic buildings, to make room for a surface parking lot. All with the blessing of a previous City Council.

But the spin doctors would have you believe that pure altruism motivated those movers and shakers. That they were sticking it to the taxpayers for the taxpayers’ own good.

So now Paul Foster owns a bigger slice of downtown El Paso. If we were playing monopoly, he’d be able to build a hotel.

Oh yeah. He’s already doing that.