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Mount Vernon IDA tables Sentinel/Penrith ground-lease decision pending real estate committee and city council direction
Summary
Board members debated a proposed ground-lease and land transfers tied to a Sentinel Development/Penrith project and agreed to wait for the city’s real estate committee and council to decide whether to transfer city-owned lots to the IDA before moving forward.
At its April 10 meeting the Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency discussed a proposed ground lease with Sentinel Development (referred to in packet materials as Penrith/Penrose in some sections) but did not take formal action, instead urging coordination with the city real estate committee and city council.
Staff and board members outlined two possible paths: the city could transfer parcels to the IDA and the IDA would enter a ground lease with the developer, or the city and IDA could both enter a ground lease with the developer while ownership remained split. Board members said neither path should proceed until the real estate committee and city council resolve whether the properties are to be declared for municipal use or placed on the public bidding/auction path.
The board noted several outstanding variables that must be resolved before a ground lease can be finalized: which parcels (the IDA and city both currently own portions), pro forma financial numbers, access and egress parcels on Third Avenue, and whether the council will support any tax-abatement expectations the developer may seek. Members repeatedly said the real estate committee — chaired by Controller Morton and including the assessor and the city council president — and the city council must weigh in before the IDA commits.
Several board members referenced past projects where agreements and memoranda of understanding did not produce timely development and warned against repeating that pattern. The board directed staff to consult with the city council and the real estate committee and recommended a joint conversation among those bodies to clarify process, property transfers and performance milestones before any IDA land-lease action.
No vote was taken on the Sentinel/Penrith matter at the April 10 meeting.
