Title
Introduction of Ordinance Approving a 33-Year Lease, with One 33-Year Option to Renew, and Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute Documents Necessary to Implement the Terms of a Lease with the Carnegie Innovation Hall, a California 501(c)3 Non-profit Organization, for 2264 Santa Clara Avenue (the Carnegie Building) and 1429 Oak Street (Foster House). [Requires Four Affirmative Votes] (Community Development 001)
Body
Title
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On October 16, 2018, the City Council approved a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Alameda Carnegie Building and adjacent Foster House. In February 2019, the Carnegie Innovation Hall was chosen as the successful proposal. The Carnegie Innovation Hall is envisioned as a center that pairs educational programming and entrepreneurship with arts, performance, music and technology. The proposed lease term is for 33 years, with one option to renew for an additional 33 years. The Carnegie Building and the Foster House require significant capital improvements, and the proposed lease includes rent abatement for the first 33 years to cover the cost of the restoration.
In addition to the restoration of the Carnegie Building and the Foster House, the Carnegie Innovation Hall would bring several other key benefits to the Alameda community, including increased access to educational and entrepreneurial programming and public access to the historic Carnegie Building, which has been vacant for over 20 years.
BACKGROUND
The historic Carnegie Building, located at 2264 Santa Clara Avenue, was one of the first three libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie to be built in California. Constructed in 1903, the Carnegie Building was designed by William H. Wilcox and John M. Curtis, and built by Alameda-based Foster & Son, at a cost of $30,842. In 1982, the City Council designated the building a Historical Monument, and later that year the building was added to the Nat...
Click here for full text