The city will ultimately cover the six-figure cost of repairs and remediation to the former Elizabethtown Gas building before it becomes the new headquarters of the United Way of Greater Union County.
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.City Council approved a resolution (AR-139-23) during its meeting on Monday night to amend a 20-year lease agreement with United Way of Greater Union County for the former Elizabethtown Gas building at the corner of Central Avenue and Hamilton Street.
Almost a year ago, the city announced entering a 20-year lease agreement with the Elizabeth-based United Way. The recent amendment keeps the lease at 20 years but it begins April 1, 2023, instead of April 1, 2022, and run through March 2043.
There’s also the matter of $127,000 in repairs and remediation to the building at 219 Central Ave. The city provided a report from an adjuster detailing repairs that need to be made to the building, which sustained damage that “appears to be a result from a flood,” according to the resolution. UPDATED: Here’s a copy of the adjuster’s report, obtained through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, which details all of the items to be repaired.
United Way will pay for the cost of repairs and remediation and the city will reimburse the cost within 30 days after a report is received certifying the costs.
Under terms of the original lease agreement, United Way would lease the 7,200-square-foot building for $1 per month for 20 years, with an option to renew for three additional 10-year terms — which could run as long as 2073.
The Redevelopment Agency agreed to lease 17 parking spaces in the nearby Hamilton Stage parking lot when it’s not in use, for which United Way would pay $100 per month as part of the 10-year lease.
The building served as an office of Elizabethtown Gas and was acquired several years ago by the Redevelopment Agency. It most recently was used as the construction and leasing office for the construction of The Willows until 2018.
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