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Incubator advisory board recommends lease for manufacturing bay; council to act at next meeting
Summary
An advisory board recommended leasing Manufacturing Bay No. 1 in the Enterprise business incubator to a food-manufacturing applicant; the city council will consider final approval at its next regular meeting after staff and council members vet details.
The incubator advisory board recommended that the council approve a lease for Manufacturing Bay No. 1 at the Enterprise business incubator, and staff said the council will consider the lease at the next regular meeting.
At a council work session, Jesse Quillen of Wiregrass Economic Development described the advisory board—s review of an application from a food-manufacturing applicant (identified in the packet as Hello Chunky Cookie Co. / Greg) to occupy Manufacturing Bay No. 1, a 5,311-square-foot space in the incubator. The board used the year-3 rate on the incubator—s rate sheet, which is $0.42 per square foot; at that rate, Quillen said the monthly rent would be $2,230.83 and that the agreement provides for a four-cent-per-square-foot annual escalation.
Under the incubator—s structure described in meeting materials, leases begin below market and are intended to be transitional: occupancy is limited to five years so tenants can —graduate— to market-rate space. The advisory committee recommended an effective start date of April 1 to allow time for the city to remove stored items and for the tenant to prepare the space, obtain permits and install equipment.
The recommended lease includes utilities as part of the rate with a provision to bill excess utilities above an estimated allowance (Quillen said the current allowance implied by the rate would be roughly $892). The applicant also requested a right of first refusal on Manufacturing Bay No. 2; committee staff included a right-of-first-refusal clause in the draft lease.
Larry Milner, a long-serving advisory-board member, said the city had long underused the incubator space and that obtaining rental revenue was a —shining light— for the city. Quillen said prior occupants in some bays had not paid rent because they were part of separate economic-development arrangements.
No final council action was taken; the mayor—s office and staff said they will place the lease on the next council meeting agenda so members can review the full contract and raise any conflicts or concerns before a formal vote.
Ending: Staff and the applicant were advised to proceed with preparations so that, if the council approves at its next meeting, the tenant can begin work under an April 1 effective date.
