After getting concessions from the sellers, El Paso County officials are scheduled to sign a $25 million contract at the end of the month to purchase several buildings and a parking garage on the former Intel campus on Garden of the Gods Road.

Among other issues, the sellers of the campus have agreed to give the county a $2.52 million credit against the purchase price to help with the cost of converting the chip manufacturer’s complex electrical system.

The sellers also will give the county a $350,000 credit to repair the roof and have agreed to dismantle a pedestrian bridge connecting the administration building with a chip fabrication facility. The county will pay for the purchase with the sale of bonds and other securities.

County spokesman Dave Rose said Wednesday that the deal is scheduled to close Sept. 29. “We’d like to get all of this done as quickly as possible because bond rates are even lower now than what we originally projected,” he said.

County officials began looking at what to do with their aging buildings in December 2009. After debating whether to renovate or build new facilities, officials concluded it would be cheapest to buy an existing structure because of declining prices for commercial property.

The county plans to move to the Garden of the Gods site its various social services departments, including the Department of Health, the Department of Human Resources and the Pikes Peak Workforce Center. Also slated to move are the treasurer, assessor and clerk’s office.

County officials are hopeful that the Department of Human Services can be moved into the new facility by the end  of December, Rose said.

Intel constructed its electrical system at the campus to provide 100 percent reliability. Transformers were placed inside buildings, distribution lines located in walkway bridges and electricity was brought in from two substations. Rose said the $2.5 million credit should cover most of the costs of separating the electrical system so tenants at the campus can be billed separately, among other changes.  “That was a very unique plant,” he said.

Los Angeles-based Industrial Realty Group purchased the 1.4 million square-foot plant in 2009 from Intel for $15.1 million.

The county could ultimately wind up spending from $75 million to $109 million in principal and interest payments for the portion of the campus that it’s purchasing at 1555-1675 Garden of the Gods Road.

The county hopes to repay the money more quickly by selling some of its vacated buildings when the market turns around.

In a concession to the seller, which is eager to attract additional tenants to the Intel campus, the county agreed to keep the cafeteria open.

Rose said the county probably will put out requests for proposals to find someone to operate the cafeteria. “The county won’t subsidize it,” he said.

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