LAKEPORT ? Escrow opened for the sale of Vista Point shopping center to Sonoma County developer Matt Riveras. The city is holding Riveras” deposit of $90,000 while paperwork is drawn up for the title company handling the sale.
The dilapidated 9.3 acre parcel on Lakeport Blvd. was appraised by the city at $900,000. The inclusion of the property”s lease with the sale bumped the final price to $1,001,000. The city council voted to approve Riveras” bid during a closed session at a meeting Tuesday, Sept. 18 that heard bids from three different developers.
Riveras has strong ties to the area?he has developed property in Lakeport and owns a home. He is the son-in-law of councilman Buzz Bruns, who sat out of any decisions made about the property, due to that relationship.
“The title company might need more time. The check may not be deposited exactly on the date suggested at the city council meeting (seven days from the meeting) simply because there was no contract made that night. But escrow has been opened, a title report is being generated, and a standard natural hazard disclosure is being given by the city to Riveras,” said Lakeport City Attorney Steven Brookes.
Meridian Investments is the current lease holder, having built the property in the early 1980”s.
They will continue to hold the 21 remaining years on that lease. According to Jeff Walters of Meridian Investments, the company posed an interest last year in buying the property, but Walters” father”s death in the summer delayed the bid process.
The formal bid was heard by the city council at the last meeting.
Meridian Investments asked Presidio Development Partners LLC in San Francisco to partner with them to redevelop the 113,288 square foot shopping center they said could generate $300,000 to $500,000 in tax revenues for the city. Presidio made a bid on the property at the Tuesday meeting.
Easton McAllister of Presidio told the city council the redevelopment would create more jobs as a catalyst for revitalization and provide a gateway to the city. He said they were pulled into the project by Meridian when Walters” father passed away.
“Combining the lease on the property with the ownership of the land is an important step toward revitalizing the site. Unfortunately, we became involved only in the last several weeks, after the city had already done much of its work to recruit potential buyers,” McAllister said.
Riveras, the new property owner will own the land the city owns now, and will have a say on any improvements made or requests for development of the property. He could not be reached after many phone calls placed last week and Wednesday. Meridian will continue to pay a lease on the land Riveras will be entitled to, but owns the above-ground improvements and will continue to collect leases from tenants through Sept. 2029.
For 2006-07, the annual rent payments totaled $42,337, rising five percent annually.
Current tenants will not be affected by future changes, taking place for the remainder of Meridian”s lease, according to Walters.
McAllister said they will continue to pursue developing the property despite not owning the land.
“We”re not just going to let it sit there,” McAllister said. “We”re still active in the process and will be tracking what evolves with Riveras” purchase of the land.”
The city of Lakeport has not heard from Meridian or Presidio, according to city manager Jerry Gilham. “(We”ve heard) not a thing,” Gilham said. At the meeting, Mayor Roy Parmentier voiced concern over the state of the property during Meridian”s lease.
“We”ve been staring at that monstrosity for five or six years,” Parmentier said.
Walters replied that they want to focus on future partnerships and noted the property had not been available for sale when they wanted to buy it.
Community Development Director Richard Knoll said the city drew up a parcel in order to define the property and sell it last spring. He said it was part of a much larger adjacent property, specifically a property that was recently pegged as the location for Lakeport”s new fire department.
“We created a parcel and then put it up for sale,” Knoll said.
Gilham said the council entered negotiations with developers on Aug. 3. The only bid offer the council received in time for discussions other than Riveras” came from Willopoint Resort owner Barry Johnson.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
