Committee amends and forwards three lease items, including retroactive Chinatown lease and rent correction

The Budget and Finance Committee on Nov. 8 amended and forwarded three real‑estate items to the full Board: Item 7, a fourth amendment to the lease for 716–720 Sacramento Street (home to the Chinatown Child Development Center), Item 8, a new lease for 2205 Jennings Street to serve Department of Technology storage and parking needs, and Item 9, a three‑year lease at 42 Golf Street for a Parent Resource Hub managed by HSA.

Rico Penick, director of real estate, said DPH has occupied the Sacramento Street premises since 1996 and Real Estate negotiated a three‑year amendment with two one‑year options and reduced the first‑year rent to $370,000 (about $40/sq ft). BLA staff recommended that Item 7 be amended to clarify retroactivity to 07/01/2023 and flagged typographical inconsistencies in the legislative file: the file listed $40/sq ft but an incorrect annual total ($454,000) that Real Estate agreed should read $370,000.

DPH staff (Anna Wlodzik and Dave Borgognoni) said plans to relocate the Chinatown Child Development Center depend on a public health and safety bond scheduled for Nov. 2024 and on subsequent construction timing; they asked the committee to approve the lease amendment to preserve operations while relocation is contingent on the bond.

On Item 8, Penick described a negotiated lease at 2205 Jennings Street for roughly 10,000 sq ft of warehouse and 5,000 sq ft of yard for Department of Technology use, with rent set at $22,000 per month ($264,000/year) and a one five‑year option to extend; the relocation followed sale of the Egbert site that required the city to vacate within 60 days. Item 9 authorizes a three‑year lease at 42 Golf of about 1,744 sq ft for a Parent Resource Hub at $25.50/sq ft ($44,472/year) fully serviced, with two months free rent and an option to extend.

The committee voted to amend Item 7 to include retroactivity to July 1, 2023, and then to forward Items 7 (as amended), 8 and 9 to the Board with positive recommendations; votes were recorded as 'aye' by Vice Chair Rafael Mandelmann and Chair Connie Chan and the motions passed.