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Severance explores downtown overhaul, potential full‑building lease with Pivot Structures
Summary
Town staff presented a Severance Square concept and proposed terms to extend and expand Pivot Structures’ lease, asking council for guidance on a public‑private partnership, parking layout and funding for capital work. Council signaled support to study costs and return with firm terms.
Town Manager Mr. Wood told the council Tuesday night the town has been studying downtown ideas for two years and brought a three‑part proposal: set policy for downtown redevelopment, decide whether to renew and expand the lease with current tenant Pivot Structures, and outline a management concept for a multi‑use Severance Square. He said Pivot currently holds a month‑to‑month lease for roughly 5,000 square feet (Unit B) with base rent of about $3,272 and that discussions with owner Jeff Hansworth indicate the company “would like to make Severance their permanent home.”
Under terms Mr. Wood described, staff and Pivot discussed a three‑year lease with a three‑year renewal option and triple‑net terms, with a proposed base‑rent figure that staff translated to about $11.86 per square foot in commercial rent. Mr. Wood said the new lease could cover the entire Quonset‑hut building and would include Pivot moving its sales office from Timnath to Severance and operating sales and manufacturing from the site.
Beyond the lease, Mr. Wood walked the council through renderings for what he called “Severance Square”: cleaning up landscaping and fencing, upgrading the meeting hall and post office facades, adding a diagonal parking area for downtown and a concrete multi‑use pad for events, food trucks or modular business suites. He said the town would focus on exterior capital work while Pivot — a general contractor — could take on interior tenant finish and certain exterior elements under a private/public partnership.
Council members voiced two broad themes in response: protect downtown’s community‑gathering character and make sure parking and pedestrian needs are met. Councilmember (S4) said the space should feel “very Severance” and urged alternatives to a large expanse of asphalt so the area remains inviting for lunch and shopping. Several members flagged potential on‑street diagonal parking options and crosswalks; staff noted that an upcoming intersection project would remove some parking and encouraged designing the intersection to accommodate future signals and safe pedestrian crossings.
Mayor Friess and others said the concept appears workable and asked staff to get engineering cost estimates and return with detailed lease terms. Mr. Wood said he will work with engineers on capital costs, coordinate with Pivot on build‑out pricing, and bring a proposed lease and CIP package back as a regular agenda item for council approval. He also requested an executive session at the next meeting to discuss a few downtown buildings that he preferred not to discuss in public at length.
The council did not take a formal vote on a lease; instead members gave staff direction to pursue costs and negotiate terms and to return with a formal recommendation and ordinance or resolution as needed.
