By Karen Kennedy
In a cost-saving effort proposed by City Council member Luci Snyder, Carmel City Utilities will move its offices and 12 employees from its current Pedcor-owned space at 760 3rd Ave. SW and will begin sharing office space with the Carmel Redevelopment Commission on the second floor of the Lurie building.
The lease on the space which Carmel utilities occupies expired on June 25, and they have been renting on a month-to-month extension. The new four-year lease in the Lurie building at 30 W. Main St., has not been signed yet, but John Duffy of Carmel City Utilities anticipates that it will be signed at the Board of Works meeting on July 17 and that the move will occur in September.
Carmel City Utilities will lease directly from Evan Lurie and will sublease to the CRC. Under the new Lurie lease, the total monthly rent will be $10,997 and the proposed sublease amount to the CRC will be $2,855. This will reduce Carmel Utilities rent from $16,850 to $8,142 per month. It will also reduce the CRC’s rent from $8,891 to $2,855. Overall, the move will save the two city departments $14,745 per month – a total annual savings of $176,940.
The cost per square foot for both Carmel Utilities and the CRC will be $20.71. According to realtor John Pacilio, fair market value for second floor office space in downtown Carmel would be anything in the area of $20 per square foot.
“Given that the staff of the CRC has been recently reduced and that Carmel Utilities was currently occupying more space than they actually needed, this seemed like a win-win situation,” Synder said.
Carmel Utilities and the CRC also will share common area maintenance fee and utility costs, with Carmel Utilities paying 74 percent and the CRC paying 26 percent.
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