Thursday, February 26, 2009

STUART — The city this week continued assembling pieces of the purchase package for Arthur’s Dockside Waterfront Restaurant property adjacent to City Hall, acquiring $1 million in financing and further negotiating the final price.

The City Commission inked a contract for the property in early December that established a maximum purchase price of just more than $4.4 million for the last piece of riverfront property north of St. Lucie Avenue not under city control.

Since that time, primary emphasis has centered on negotiating down more than $4 million in liens and claims against the property. The outcome of those dealings will determine how much the city ultimately pays for the property.

On Monday, city commissioners approved a $3.85 million price cap for the deal. However, as of Tuesday, City Attorney Paul Nicoletti said the encumbrances hovered just below $4 million.

Because of the ongoing negotiations with lien holders, the city obtained a three-week extension until March 20 to conclude its pre-sale inspection and set a new
closing date of April 3.

“It’s very fluid,” Nicoletti said. “We’re not going to be able to nail down all the numbers by the end of the week.”

While the city continues to drive toward a final price, the Stuart Community Redevelopment Agency this week pledged $1 million in CRA money toward the deal.
CRA money is raised by funneling tax-base gains from economic growth back into the redevelopment area.

The balance of the funding for the purchase will depend somewhat on what the city decides to do with the property, said Stuart City Manager Dan Hudson.

If the deal is finalized, however, the property will remain under lease to the current occupant, Lehn Dombrose Inc., for the next three years. Commissioners approved a lease package allowing continued use of the property as a restaurant and bar for a monthly rent of $100.

By Jim Mayfield, TCPalm.com

Tags: city commission, contract, cra, development, money, property, riverfront

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