I (jake) had a meeting with Deb on January 15, 2008.  Halfway through, Mike Gable joined the two of us.  It was good to have Mike present for a change, it made their claims of an eminent sublease contract seem more credible to me.

 

 

ACTION ITEMS (see below for more details):

 

- Contact Nathaniel of Steel City Biofuels to discuss his organization's build out plans and the arrangement of entrances.

 

- Discuss several specific aspects of the impending lease agreement, including flex space, space expansion options and who will sign for FR.

 

 

LEASE NEWS

 

CJ's Lease is done(!)  Their lease is valid for a term of 29.5 years, broken up into six periods with a renewal option every 5 years.

 

At this point they're finalizing the sublease contracts for all their subletters (see below for more on that)...

 

 ...Deb AND Mike were both confident that they would be able to hand us a sublease contract within ONE WEEK of the day of this meeting.  It will be transmitted to me electronically and we will be able to review it and comment before we sign.  Here are the details I know so far about the contract:

 

1. The term will likely be 36 months (3 years), with a renewal option at the end of each 3 year interval.  They weren't entirely clear, but the interval seemed sort of negotiable.

 

2. We should think seriously about if FR will want to expand its space in the next three yeas as this will need to be written into the lease in some form.

 

3. There will be changes to the availability of the "flex space", especially on Saturdays.  See below for more.

 

4. FR's rent will go up.  It is still not clear by how much but Deb said it wouldn't be substantial...

 

I reiterated that we will release all of our escrowed rent (one year's worth at this point) as soon as the lease is signed.

 

 

OTHER SUBLETTERS

 

The Pillow Project

As we already know, the Pillow Project is managing and maintaining the upstairs gallery space in exchange for its use.  In this sense their status with CJ is slightly different than FR or any other subletter because the Pillow Project actually generates revenue for CJ.  It seems that they have a separate contract that reflects this unique arrangement.

 

Steel City Biofuels

It's now official that SCB is subletting from CJ.  They are initially going to use an unspecified amount of office space in and around the front door/hallway/office space that FR uses as its main entrance.  SCB may eventually install a small (not production level) biofuels setup for demonstration and education purposes.

 

Reclamere

Reclamere is the "mystery tenant" from recent discussion.  They are a "data security" and recycling service.  Basically, companies (and maybe individuals?) can bring their old computers and other data containing devices to Reclamere, who guarantee to securely destroy all data on the computers/devices and then recycle the components.  It seems they will occupy the space just on the other side of FR's bike hanging wall (similar to where Hi-Tech Scrap used to be if you were involved with FR in our previous space).  Reclamere will be doing a somewhat substantial build-out because they need a completely secure space as part of their operation.  This will include a large garage door in the big opening beside the entrance to FR's shop.

 

 

CJ GRANT WRITING AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

 

CJ intends to make some basic safety and security improvements to the building in the very near future (next few months).  This will include some new doors, and safety equipment such as lights (hopefully).

 

CJ has submitted a grant proposal to the Heinz Foundation.  They will find out if they are approved sometime in February and if approved will actually receive money around June.  They intend to use this money for major building improvements, especially green building upgrades.  They intend to work toward a LEED certification for their building.

 

Once they get this money, they will hire a design professional and begin the process of designing their building upgrades.  Once that person/firm is hired, FR and other tenants will be asked for input into the upgrades.  this isn't expected until the middle of 2008.

 

CJ is also applying for a grant from something called the Community Design Center.  I think it's also related to their bigger plans, perhaps the green block move that's happening in their vicinity?

 

Deb stated that some of the building projects they will be doing could cause disruptions to FR's operation.  (i.e. we might have to close for some times when they will be doing major work in/around our space).

 

Deb mentioned that in a few years time, there is a real possibility of the entire warehouse space (our space included) being heated/cooled year 'round.  Hot water, too!  Don't get too excited yet, she said this was definitely a few years away.

 

Part of the building upgrades will include better/more secure entrances to all of the tenants spaces, including FR, Reclamere SCB.  Deb asked that we get in touch with Nathaniel of SCB to discuss the arrangement of his space and our shared entrances.  This is also linked to a big change in how CJ will handle donations, see the next section below:

 

 

NEAR FUTURE CHANGES TO CJ'S OPERATION

 

CJ intends to start using the adjacent warehouse space to FR for sorting and receiving ALL incoming donations.  That includes their deconstruction crews during the week and general public donations all the time, which are greater over the weekends.  This will begin to happen in the spring and will go into in full operation pretty quickly.  This will cause a large increase in CJ employee and forklift traffic in front of FR's entrance.

 

For FR, the biggest consequences of the change are that there is likely to be little or no "flex space" available on Saturdays when CJ and FR are both open.  THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT MAY NEED TO BE HASHED OUT BEFORE OUR LEASE IS SIGNED.