Kenmore to Lease the Village for $1 Per Year? Are You Kidding?
What, Exactly is a “Ground Lease Agreement” and Why is the City of Kenmore Considering this for Urban Partners LLC?
Don't Wait Until May 24 to Ask the City What This is All About!
The Spring issue of the Kenmore Newsletter included the short article above. It seems harmless enough: The City is proposing to amend a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) from 2007 and they want to make some “adjustments” in this DDA. On May 17th the Council will be presented with the amendments. Since the amendments “include additional substantive amendment language” a public hearing is required and will be held on May 24th.
“INCLUDE ADDITIONAL SUBSTANTIVE AMENDMENT LANGUAGE”
This has to be one of the most understated, understatements I’ve seen in a while. I hate to sound suspicious, but why did this article not mention that the City of Kenmore and Urban Partners LLC are considering a “ground lease agreement” which will essentially turn Urban Partners LLC into the tenant (with some interesting rights) of the Kenmore Village which will place UP in the position of being the landlord and steward of 9 acres of the City’s property? Furthermore, this agreement will require Urban Partners LLC to pay a grand total of $1 per year for the lease which will expire in December 2016. There are other compensation factors in the lease; however, I still find this odd.
Since I’m not an expert on ground lease agreements, nor am I an attorney, below I’m providing you with a link to the May 17th agenda so that you can take a look at the language of this agreement and draw your own conclusions. Just click on the picture below:
Click on this picture to read the agenda: Land lease agreement pg 164
I think it is incredibly important that you all read the proposed agreement starting at page 164. This land lease isn’t just substantive, it’s a stunning move by the City to embed Urban Partners in our community for years to come. Is this what we want?
Over the last several years I’ve come to understand that the City Council and City of Kenmore have had a “special relationship” with Urban Partners LLC. In spite of the downturn in the economy and the unlikely development of the Kenmore Village as envisioned years ago, the City continues to hold on to this relationship. It appears that the City is now attempting to get out of the “landlord” business and pass the responsibility of managing/developing/improving etc. Kenmore Village on to Urban Partners LLC through an agreement that, in my opinion, needs to be explained to the residents of Kenmore BEFORE the public hearing on May 24th.
One final thought today: Is Urban Partners LLC the ONLY developer or party that should be granted this lease? Is the Urban Partners LLC the same company (with the proper assets and expertise and ability) that it was several years ago? Has the City considered any other developer?
I would love to get some commentary on this upcoming Council meeting and subsequent public hearing. Let me know what you think or understand about this.
May 14th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
[...] I wrote in my post “Kenmore to Lease the Village for $1 Per Year, Are you Kidding?” I wanted to raise awareness of what the City of Kenmore intends to do with regard to the management [...]