I spoke with Jim Reeves, chairman of the CMPA Board of Directors, last night. He agrees the June 8 offer by MCM-BAP is very different than the one his board voted on in January. Reeves described the new offer as “ridiculous”
He also pointed out that if MCM-BAP used the same formula to calculate the lease payment as Beck and Studer Properties the total annual lease payments should be $509,000, plus real estate taxes (est. $590,000) and common area maintenance (est. $18,000-$20,000). MCM-BAP is offering only a flat $150,000.
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The city no longer knows what CBRE will be paid if this development is approved. The commission is in a private contract between CBRE and MCM-BAP. Yet CBRE says it is working in the best interest of the city.
CBRE was paid about $46,500 to analyze city properties in 2013. Mayor Ashton Hayward then awarded CBRE an exclusive contract to market all city properties.
This is the only deal CBRE has brought to the CMPA and City in that two-year period.
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There is one voice missing from the PNJ article on the new MCM-BAP deal–the strong mayor’s voice. His staff has known about this offer since June 8, possibly earlier. The mayor and his team have had plenty of time to review and form a recommendation. Why the silence?