4-minute read
Lakeland commissioners are considering selling three CRA-owned properties valued between $1.3 million and $1.9 million to longtime tenants at less than half the appraised value, in two cases.
The proposal was added to the City Commission’s agenda for Monday, Nov. 17, on Friday afternoon at the request of Mayor Bill Mutz.
Selling these properties has been discussed for years. But the size of the price reductions was shared publicly for the first time on Friday, Nov. 14. Discounts amount to 64.5% for DOU Bakehouse, 52% for Haus 820 and 31% for the Market Lofts Apartments.
Mutz said commissioners will hold “a discussion to take an action” on a recommendation from the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Advisory Board.
‘No specific dollars shown’
CRA Manager Valerie Vaught briefed the advisory board on Aug. 7 about three businesses that were ready to transition from tenant to owner:
- Bakehouse LLC would buy its building at 830 N. Massachusetts Ave. and parking at 902 N. Kentucky. Together, the 1.25 acres were appraised last year at $1,410,000.
- Neighbors of Lakeland LLC, which operates as Market Lofts Apartments, would buy 310 Plum St. The appraised value of the .8-acre property was $1,320,000.
- Haus Management LLC would buy its building at 820 N. Massachusetts Ave., including the former site of Art/ifact, and parking at 830 N. Kentucky. Together, the 1.95 acres were appraised at $1,880,000.
She said the CRA has been working for three years to get out of its role as a long-term landlord. It advertised the properties by publishing a public “notice of disposition,” but only the current anchor tenants responded.
Those tenants, who were at the meeting, are:
- Laura Shannon, owner of Haus 820 and Bloom Shakalaka
- David Hernandez and Diana Cortes, co-founders of DOU Bakehouse
- Brian Seeley, operator of the Market Lofts Apartments and former executive director and founder of Gospel Inc.
Vaught called them “early adopters” who took a risk on a formerly blighted area in 2016 and 2017, launched successful ventures and “validated the market potential of Midtown.”
She asked the board to allow city staff to draft sale contracts giving them “considerations of prior investments, including base rent paid and previous capital improvements made by tenants, as reduction toward purchase.”
The eight-member board unanimously approved the concept of lowering the price — but before any specific amounts were proposed.
“It’s important to mention that there were not specific dollars shown in that meeting, but the concept was approved,” Mutz acknowledged Friday.
Commissioners express concerns
Several commissioners said they were surprised by the size of the proposed deductions, which they first saw during one-on-one meetings with city staff last week.
- Commissioner Chad McLeod recommended sending the proposal back to the CRA Advisory Board with the tentative sale prices included.
- Commissioner Mike Musick said, “The numbers that I have seen, I think there is too much of a give-back.” Later, he added, “I’d be curious, if the advisory board had all of the numbers that we’re going to look at on Monday, would it be unanimous?”
- Commissioner Guy LaLonde, who sits on the advisory board, said the tenants already benefited from moving into freshly renovated buildings and paying discounted rent for nearly a decade. “A lot of the numbers don’t match out to me,” he said.
Setting a precedent
Commissioner Stephanie Madden said such steep discounts would set a precedent for other businesses that hope to buy CRA-owned properties.
She mentioned that The Well wanted unlimited use of a vacant CRA-owned lot for parking. The city asked The Well for $500 a month for non-exclusive use of the grass lot and would have required it to provide liability coverage. Ultimately, the city fenced the lot.
She also noted that if Talbot House moves out of the nine-block Mass Market area, future development could significantly alter the value of property Haus 820 and DOU Bakehouse would be acquiring for parking.
“Certainly, the first people into an area that’s blighted take the biggest risk, and that’s the biggest reward,” Madden said, but added that she had questions about some of the terms.
‘We ought to respond’
Mutz said it would be “redundant” to send the proposal back to the CRA Advisory Board since, ultimately, the City Commission is the body they advise.
“We’re really going to make a decision anyway,” the mayor said. “We ought to respond to this approval by the [advisory board]. The committee made it to us. Where should the terms be? That’s our job.”
After 25 minutes, the commissioners agreed to add the item to the Nov. 17 agenda.
“I’m not opposed to having that discussion on Monday,” LaLonde said. “But I don’t feel compelled to solve it on Monday.”
See the discussion
latest news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
I agree with commissioner Lalonde. Lakeland is notorious for giving away properties then regretting it later.