Mansfield EDC authorizes board president to execute 10-year lease with Admiral Legacy to anchor Mansfield Innovation Community

On May 6, 2025, the Mansfield Economic Development Corporation voted to authorize its board president to execute a 10-year lease with Admiral Legacy Investments LLC for a planned anchor building in the Mansfield Innovation Community, a project the presenter said is intended to attract biotech, life-sciences and medical-device firms to the Link Innovation District.

Rachel Moore, the presenter, told the board the proposed building would be a 100,000–150,000 square-foot Class A office and that the EDC would "be master leasing 50% of this building, so about 75,000 square feet." She said the agreement includes a rent-gap backstop for the building "for a maximum of 10 years," and that "total cash grants for this agreement equals 7,500,000.0," to be paid out by 2028.

Moore framed the project as filling a local market gap, saying the MEC is expected to "generate over $23,000,000 in TIRS revenue and $17,000,000 to the city's general fund over the life cycle of the TIRS" and would help "jump start Class A office in Mansfield." She said initial market-rate leasing assumptions start at $28 per square foot with incremental increases that could reach about $37.63 by 2037, and she cited a leaseback-stop figure in the transcript described as a "worst-case scenario" near $5.9 million; transcript formatting made some dollar figures and an annual MEDC payment figure unclear, which the board asked staff to confirm.

Board member Nicole pressed for contract clarifications before final signature. "The commencement date is defined when shell work is complete," she said, and warned that starting rent obligations at that milestone could put the EDC on the hook if tenants cannot yet occupy the space. Nicole asked whether a certificate of occupancy (CO) should be required before payments begin, questioned who would provide any security deposit and objected to language that might allow commingling of deposit funds with operating funds. She also raised insurance concerns, saying the draft required property insurance for the developer but lacked explicit general liability requirements given the EDC's potential backstop role.

Moore and an attorney present said those contract components were still being negotiated and that the city attorney would have final approval before execution. Moore asked the board for authorization so attorneys could finish negotiations and the board president could sign the finalized lease prior to the next meeting.

The board approved both a separate motion to "approve project as discussed in executive session" and the authorization for the chair to execute Resolution 25-621 by voice vote; the votes were recorded on the transcript as having passed by voice with no opposition noted. The record did not give roll-call tallies.

The meeting closed with brief board-member comments, staff announcements about the Mansfield Business Expo on May 15 and a lunch-and-learn with Dan Hunt (FC Dallas president) on May 14, and adjournment at 4:52 p.m.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 25-621 (authorize board president to execute 10-year lease with Admiral Legacy Investments LLC) — authorized by voice vote (no recorded roll-call tally). Executive-session project approval — authorized by voice vote (no recorded roll-call tally).