Fort Road Federation loses lease at Schmidt Rathskeller
The West 7th / Fort road Federation is lost its office space in the Schidt Rathskeller. Their last day at the building was August 9.
“The Federation was about five years into a 10-year lease agreement for our office space in the building,” said Meg Duhr, the current Board Chair of the Federation. “We had an agreement for free rent in our office space until 2029, which was part of a multi-faceted deal at the time involving the Federation, the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, and the developers, with the Federation leading the charge to save, restore and redevelop the building.”
The Federation was forced to give up their space when the Molina Group, the new owners of the building, abruptly announced a rent increase. Their new home will be located within the parish of St. Stanislaus.
The news of the rent increase came as a harsh blow to the federation, who worked with former owner Craig Cohen on the renovation of the building and were granted a 10-year lease rent free. With the ownership change through bankruptcy, the Molina Group was able to void leases with tenants and renegotiate rates.
Executive Director Julia McColley said the Federation explored other facilities, but there was not space for them at the few city-owned facilities in the area and options were limited, but were very grateful St. Stans was able to provide them with a space.
She said they will officially be in the new space after Labor Day.
The Molina Investment Group purchased the building in April of this year for about $2 million. They have been renegotiating leases with current tenants, which include and event space managed by Mancini’s, Patisserie 46, ROK Music Lounge and Bar and Rose Street Bakery. They are said to also be looking to add a Brazilian steakhouse to the 20,000-square-foot building.
