The Little Rock Technology Park Authority's board approved Wednesday an approximately $269,000 increase in construction costs for its first phase, an adjustment necessary to remove asbestos from properties being demolished.
Environmental surveys of properties at 114 E. Capitol Ave. and 415 Main St. revealed the presence of asbestos and East Harding Construction of Little Rock revised its cost estimate from $6.5 million to $6.8 million, largely to account for hiring a company to remove the hazardous material. Abatement of asbestos will cost about $170,000 on the Capitol Avenue property and $40,000 for the building on Main. The rest of the increase is for demolition costs.
"We have the money in the budget to take care of it," Brent Birch, director of the technology park, told board members. Birch told the board he is working with the Pulaski County Brownfields Program, a federally funded entity, for possible assistance with the cost of the asbestos removal at the Main Street property.
Abatement of the asbestos likely will extend into May. Project completion is still set for January 2017.
"You understand the magnitude of this, right? It's sizable," board Chairman Kevin Zaffaroni told fellow members before they voted to approve the new costs.
In other business, the board approved lease rates for tenants. Rents range from $125 for a nonreserved co-working space to $1,100 for a 288-square-foot suite. Leases for co-working spaces will be month to month, while other leases for suites will be for 12 months.
At full capacity, the leases for the first phase of the tech park are expected to generate $14,125 per month.
Rates are still being set for companies that might want a full floor. Birch said he is considering leases running between three and five years for entire floors.
"These companies will be in all shapes and sizes, different maturity levels with what they can afford," Birch said after the meeting. "There are a lot of variables. It's definitely set up to be a fit for a one-man shop, a five-man, or 10-man. You could have somebody come in and take up a whole floor. For this first phase we've got just about anything anybody would be looking for."
Board members also granted Birch authority to move forward with an agreement to have Best Park manage a 91-space parking lot at Fourth and Main streets. Birch was asked to pursue a five-year management agreement with the parking company that could be broken if the tech park decided to build on the property. Zaffaroni also asked that Birch get a cap on administrative costs if possible.
Once the tech park has ownership, the lot is projected to generate $126,633 in gross profit p̶e̶r̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶t̶h̶ yearly* if at 100 percent occupancy. The lot is now used by a state agency.
Business on 04/14/2016
*CORRECTiON: The Little Rock Technology Park Authority is projecting $126,633 in yearly gross profit under a new contract if a parking lot it owns at Fourth and Main streets is 100 percent occupied. The length of time needed to generate the amount was incorrectly reported in this story.