To the Newton Independent:
Prior to the meeting of the Newton School Board on July 26th, I told the superintendent and the school board that I did not believe the $3 per square foot was an adequate amount to charge AEA for space in the Emerson Hough building.
The board president asked to back up my statement with facts and he told me "having overseen the sale of three commercial buildings in town this past year and currently working with prospects that are looking to lease space here in town, I feel I have a pretty good vantage point from which to view the local market. My opinion is that this is a fair amount for both sides."
Fair enough. This is what I found:
Advertised Leased Space
Iowa Telecom/Windstream - $7 to $10 per square foot. (They have some for $12 per square foot.)
Dan Johnson (owner of AEA's current location) - $7.20 per square foot.
True Value Plaza - $10.80 per square foot.
Current Actual Leased Space
Heartland AEA Newton location - $7 per square foot. (This includes utilities, snow removal, mowing, etc.) I spoke with Dave King, business manager at AEA's Johnston office.
Jasper County Extension - Current location is the DMACC facility. $12 per square foot for 2,000 square feet. (This includes snow removal, utilities, etc.)
Newton Community School System for Basics and Beyond - Current location is DMACC facility. $9.25 per square foot for 4,296 square feet plus $1,000 for phone expense.
Recently leased space True Value Mall - $8.14 per square foot. 1,400 square feet. In addition, the tenant paid all utilities, pay for any repairs, install a new breaker and would have to pay the first $500 of any air conditioning repair.
The board president continued to maintain at the meeting on Monday night that $3 per square foot was a realistic figure and that another reason for this rate was that AEA is our partner in education. I believe that DMACC is, also, our partner in education and they are not giving away their ship. I would, also, consider the Jasper County Extension office a partner in education.
Is this a good deal for AEA? Yes it is. Is this a good deal for the citizens/taxpayers of the Newton Community School District? I'll let you be the judge.
Fran Henderson
Newton
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