What went wrong in the purchase of 101 Ash St. | Jeff McDonald, David Garrick - a podcast by San Diego Union-Tribune

Cybele Thompson, the career real estate professional San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer recruited in 2014 to manage the city’s portfolio of property and leases, has become the latest official to leave her job after a report about the troubled acquisition of a downtown high rise.

Thompson will leave Wednesday, one week after an independent review found serious deficiencies in the city’s 2016 plan to acquire the former Sempra Energy headquarters at 101 Ash Street, according to her letter of resignation dated Monday.

The departure is the second for a high-profile city official involved in the Ash Street transaction. Earlier this year, former Deputy Chief Operating Officer Ronald Villa retired amid questions of how the property was handled.

A report from the Mayor’s Office last week said it could cost $115 million or more to rehabilitate the Ash Street office tower to a condition that would be safe for city employees to occupy — a stunning amount for a building appraised at $72 million a few years ago.

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