Senior investigative reporter Lisa Halverstadt has been watching the city of San Diego's real estate deals for years.

101 Ash St. was a notorious real estate endeavor in which the the city entered a lease-to-own deal for a downtown high rise. The deal was quickly engulfed in scandal and asbestos. After years of lawsuits and a criminal investigation, taxpayers paid more than $200 million dollars and the building remains vacant.

So, when Mayor Todd Gloria unveiled a big new deal for a big new building to be a new homeless mega shelter, Halverstadt dug in.

This week, Halverstadt discussed how this building came to the attention of city staff and the motivations of the man trying to sell it.

Plus: A new softball scandal. What "fire SDG&E" really means. Goodbye to Nate.

Subscribe to the North County report: vosd.org/northcounty

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.