NHPS
The Board of Education (BOE) has approved a renewed lease for the Adult and Continuing Education Center that will see the rent rise tens of thousands of dollars a year in a rundown space.
The board voted 5 – 1 Monday night to continue housing the Adult Ed program at 540 Ella Grasso Blvd. suite. (BOE member Tamiko Jackson-McArthur did not cast a vote because of a technical glitch, but said she would have voted yes.)
The lease agreement between the New Haven Board of Education and SP Ella LLC includes a 3 percent annual per-square-foot escalation.
Several board members thanked Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb for taking care of the “tough negotiation” in support of housing the Adult Ed program.
SP Ella LLC bought 540 Ella Grasso Blvd. for $6.85 million on Sept. 20, 2020, according to city land records. Its principals are local landlord/developer Mendel Paris and Sim Levenhartz, according to the state commercial database.
The monthly rent for the 40,000 square-foot location rises from $55,000 this academic year to $56,666.67 the following year (for a total of $680,000), to $58,366.67 (total of $700,400) for the 2023 – 4 academic year, to $60,100 (or total $721,200) for 2024 – 5.
The agreement includes a 90-day escape clause. BOE Vice President and Finance and Operations Committee Chair Matt Wilcox said the administration has committed to looking at other possible options for the program before the end of the escape clause period.
Wilcox added that the owner originally wanted a 10-year lease. Lamb negotiated the four-year lease with the built in 3 percent annual increase.
“Because there’s the escape clause, and we can find a way out of this, and we need a place for this academic program, I’m in support of this,” Wilcox said.
BOE member Darnell Goldson, who cast the dissenting vote criticized a “lack of long-term planning” by the district. The district has neglected to rehouse the Adult Education program after years of placement in a building that has had a leaking roof, mold, and rodents, Goldson said.
“We’re being robbed,” Goldson said. “Two years ago when we decided we were going to bring all of our services back into the school system and get out all of these leases, this was a lease that was on the list to be taken care of,” Goldson said.
Lamb said the building’s issues with roof leaks and mold are required to be addressed by the landlord according to city health department standards.
Asked where the money will come for the increased rent, Superintendent Iline Tracey said a large part of the Adult Ed program is paid for by State Department of Education grants and the district’s general funds.
Wilcox and BOE members Edward Joyner and Larry Conaway agreed they were unhappy about the price increase and would like to see the district get out of the lease in the near future. They said they supported the negotiated agreement to avoid “slam[ming] an education program out of their space mid-year.”
Goldson suggested the board wait to vote until considering additional options for housing the adult ed program and identifying more specifically how the rent increase will be paid for.
“The state hasn’t confirmed that they’re going to increase their budget,” Goldson said. “If they’re not paying for it, either the city’s paying for it, or the Board of Ed is paying for it. Or both of us are paying for it. And if we’re paying for it, that means the local taxpayers are paying for it.”
Wilcox agreed to have a discussion at the next Finance and Operations Committee meeting Nov. 15 about the implications of the rent increase to the district’s general funds.
Lamb reported that the landlord started negotiations at $27 a square foot based on market value prices. The district has been paying between $12 and $13 per square foot since 1995, he said. The rent increase is due to inflation as reflected in consumer price index increases. If properly maintained, the space would cost between $17 and $25 per square foot, he said.
“It’s not Triple A class office space. It’s not even Double A class office space,” Lamb said.
The agreement includes a $100,000 Tenant Improvement Allowance (TIA), Lamb added.
Goldson said stakeholders like Adult Ed and members of the board should have been a part of the negotiation team.
“The fact is that there is no alternative because we haven’t put the hard work to have an alternative, to develop an alternative,” Goldson said.