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St. Bernard CIC votes to hire outside counsel to press tenant relocation and advance developer agreement
Summary
The St. Bernard Community Improvement Corporation approved hiring attorney Steve Gooden (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur) to assist with negotiations to relocate the last tenant at the shopping center and to review the developer operating agreement; the board approved the engagement after discussing an estimated $10,000–$12,000 fee.
The St. Bernard Community Improvement Corporation on Feb. 25 voted to retain outside counsel to help resolve a stalemate with the final tenant at the village shopping center and to assist with the developer operating agreement. The board approved the engagement after a roll‑call vote.
Meredith Hughes, a CIC board member, told the board the relocation process had reached a “minor impasse” and recommended hiring Steve Gooden of the law firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur to negotiate on the CIC’s behalf. Hughes said Gooden provided a letter of engagement and estimated the total legal cost for the matter at between $10,000 and $12,000.
The recommendation followed work by relocation specialist Kathleen Norris, who has been presenting options to the tenant and to the tenant’s representative from Cushman & Wakefield, Hughes said. “She’s still working for us,” Hughes said, “but legal counsel will now move in to present what we need.”
The board moved and then voted by roll call to retain Gooden. The meeting record shows the motion carried with all present voting in favor; one board member was absent.
Why it matters: The legal engagement is intended to accelerate relocation so demolition and subsequent redevelopment can proceed without losing grant funding deadlines. Hughes told the board that reaching resolution quickly is important to avoid delays in the multi‑phase project and to preserve grant resources already committed to demolition and site work.
What happens next: The CIC said it will contact Gooden to finalize the engagement and expects counsel to begin negotiating with the tenant’s representatives. The board did not set a specific spending cap beyond Gooden’s estimate, and hour‑by‑hour billing was noted in the engagement letter.
