The Finance Committee met 04/24/2023. One of the items they voted on was a request to approve leasing space in the Northland Mall for dance studio space contingent on approval of a potential development agreement related to City Center. The Finance Committee voted 5-0 to approve the request. Additionally, the Parks and Recreation Committee discussed the lease as an information item and expressed some interest in the move.
I’ve prepared transcripts of both committee discussions.
Currently, the Parks and Recreation Department rents space in City Center for dance studios for the dance program it runs. A company is in discussions to develop the area of City Center where the dance studios are located. If a development agreement is approved and the company moves forward with the project, the city will need to find a new location for the dance studios.
They settled on space in the Northland Mall. Currently, the city pays $7.29 per square foot for the space in City Center. The space in Northland Mall would be $10.50 per square foot for 2023 and 2024, $11 square foot for 2025 and 2026, and $11.50 square foot in 2027. Although that lease is higher than what the city is currently paying, it is still a competitive price in today’s market and the difference in rental fees for 2023 and 2024 would be covered by the City Center developer who negotiated an agreement with the city to buyout their lease in the existing space for $100,000.
The city saw a lot of benefits to the new location in Northland Mall including:
- Free and readily available parking.
- Access to a bus route.
- The opportunity to participate in the growth/development of Northland Mall.
Dean Gazza, the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Facilities, said people were excited about the new location. [I took “people” to mean both parents of students and also staff.] The free parking was a positive, and the new location would be next to Kohl’s, and there were also some new restaurants that were going to be built in the parking lot. [Chick-fil-A is building a location there.] He also said that the mall owner was also excited to see the city come to that space.
During the Finance Committee meeting, Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) asked if the increase in rent costs would lead to the city having to increase the rates for the dance program. Director Gazza noted that the city’s costs would not increase for 2023 and 2024. After that, their total rent would be around $20,000-$30,000 more than it currently was. “[C]ould we see some increases in fees? Possibly. But at this time, we’re looking at offsetting it with some other programming.”
But, they would not want to raise the rates because they recognized that they were filling a niche by serving students that could not afford to get lessons at a dance studio. He noted that there were going to be 600 kids at the dance recital coming up this weekend. His understanding was that the dance program had been started in the 1920’s or 1930’s. “So it’s something that we cherish and want to keep.”
View full Finance Committee meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1086355&GUID=0388B86C-0172-42DB-8313-F558DD5F00EB
View full Parks and Recreation Committee meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1092176&GUID=0DDFD8C8-ED54-46EA-A3D0-FB86E43E9EFC
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