Committee approves recommendation to send 160 South Van Ness lease amendment with cap on renovations

The Budget and Finance Committee forwarded a proposed three-year lease extension for 160 South Van Ness with recommendation after staff and the budget analyst outlined tenant improvements and a suggested amendment to cap renovation costs.

John Updike, acting director of real estate, said the Human Services Agency has occupied the space since 1999 and the lease amendment facilitates tenant improvements, notably for the investigations division, with approximately $54,000 in work to be amortized over a three-year extension. Updike said the amendment maintains the base lease rate and does not pass through administrative costs or capitalized interest.

Phil Arnold of the Human Services Agency told the committee the department made two programmatic changes that prompted the work: moving state fair hearings into the site (which required a public barrier) and gradually assuming investigative responsibilities formerly handled by the District Attorney's office, which required privacy and security upgrades for investigators. Arnold said those changes made the tenant improvements prudent.

The budget analyst explained that the additional rent attributable to renovations would be $1,500 per month over 36 months, which computes to $54,000 and would result in a total monthly rent of $30,800 (base rent $29,300 plus $1,500). The analyst recommended amending the resolution to add language capping the agency's renovation responsibility at the estimated $54,000 and recommended approving the resolution as amended. No members of the public spoke on the item.

Committee members accepted the budget analyst's recommendation and agreed without objection to send the amended lease amendment forward with recommendation.