Commission approves Funky Pelican lease amendments tied to façade and deck upgrades

The City Commission approved an amendment to the city's lease with the Funky Pelican operator that conditions a longer lease term on the completion of specified capital improvements and shifts responsibility for permitted capital improvements, maintenance and insurance to the tenant.

City staff and tenant representatives described the proposed improvements: a refreshed facade and new signage, an engineered screening to conceal rooftop mechanical equipment, a new dumpster enclosure, a photo-wall/entry feature, and a rooftop deck cover (described in the staff packet and on visual renderings). The amendment grants staged lease extensions only after the capital improvements are permitted and installed; permits are expected within six months and construction within one year of permit issuance, according to tenant counsel Jessica Gallo.

Commissioners raised technical questions about sign height and grandfathering (the existing roof sign is grandfathered and cannot be expanded without losing that status), storm and wind loads for roof screening, structural permitting, insurance and delimiting structural work on the pier/deck where some connections were discussed. Tenant representatives and staff said permitting and code compliance reviews would govern structural details and that capital improvements would be tenant-funded and insured.

Commissioner discussion included potential economic-trigger clauses to enable periodic market-rate re-evaluation during an extended multi-decade term; city attorneys agreed to draft trigger language that would permit a limited renegotiation mechanism tied to external market comparables. Commissioners also signaled that detailed elevations, final sign dimensions and structural details would be returned for second reading and permit review. The amendment was approved with direction to attorneys to refine market-trigger language and return the final documents for completion.