Developer Marty Kehoe is now the proud owner of Wapato Jail, he said Thursday morning.

He said the deed was recorded Wednesday afternoon and he paid the promised $5 million. A spokeswoman for Multnomah County confirmed receipt of the money Thursday.

"The long saga of Wapato is over,'' said Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury. "We didn't need it as a jail. We couldn't afford to convert it. We couldn't reach back into the past and recapture the money spent. But we could work with professional real estate managers to sell Wapato and get that property back on the tax rolls to bring vital revenue to serve those in our community who need us most."

The 155,400-square-foot facility was used several times for TV and movie shoots, but has otherwise been a money suck for the county and taxpayers.

Kehoe said he doesn't have immediate plans for the property, but the jail building will be eventually torn down and the land used for commercial enterprises.

"It's going to be a long-term investment where we will build warehouse buildings in the future," Kehoe said Thursday.

Many critics of the deal worry Kehoe will flip the property for more than the $5 million he paid the county. He originally offered $10.8 million in November, but submitted a lower bid after studying the property and saying he wouldn't buy it.

He has also been mired in controversy over his deals, and is currently in a lawsuit that some thought would have cast doubt on his ability to pay.

That Kehoe has $5 million available to buy Wapato comes as a big surprise to John and Patricia Chaney.

The Portland couple has sued Kehoe twice since 2016 claiming he owes $272,155 in back rent, late fees and other penalties from a Tualatin office building lease. Kehoe personally guaranteed payment of the lease entered into by Plasti-Fab Inc., a now-defunct operation that Kehoe had loaned money to.

""But when we notified him (the payments had stopped) he said he didn't have any money," said John Chaney, a retired technology executive.

Kehoe said the Chaneys are to blame for their lost leasing revenue. "We had a settlement agreement with the Chaneys which they defaulted on," Kehoe claimed. "We then went to a mediation, which neither of the Chaneys showed up for. This was a business dispute which we tried to settle. But it's hard to settle when one of the parties doesn't show up for the agreed upon mediation."

But county commissioners said they felt Kehoe was the only viable offer on the table. A group of business leaders and developers offered $7 million in a last-minute bid for the property, but it was contingent on a feasibility study.

In a 4-1 vote, commissioners decided last week that they'd rather have the cash in hand to use for permanent supportive housing to reduce homelessness than hope for a better deal.

They faced mighty backlash from community members and Commissioner Loretta Smith, who said that the county should turn the $58 million facility built more nearly 15 years ago but never used into a public good or sell it to someone who would.

-- Molly Harbarger and Jeff Manning

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923