Ponce Park LLC said yesterday that it also closed on a $6 million purchase of a six-and-a-half-acre parcel near City Hall East to be part of its mixed-use development of retail, residential and office space.

The property between Ponce de Leon Avenue and North Avenue is situated between Piedmont Park and Freedom Park, two of the largest expanses of green space in Atlanta. It also lies along the proposed Beltline project, which aims to create a transit route, parks, commercial and residential developments along a 22-mile loop of old railroad lines around downtown.

The city purchased the Sears building in 1990 after it had been nearly vacant for almost a decade. It has been used for city offices, but Mayor Shirley Franklin's administration has wanted to sell it and move those offices, including the Police Department, elsewhere.

Ponce Park said its purchase price for the building would be $27 million.