[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=36305.09

Port Should Revise Lease
Perhaps you have heard that over the last 11 months a group has been trying to turn the former Michigan City Yacht Club building into a public restaurant AND provide a home for the Michigan City Yacht Club to continue its 75-year tradition in boater education and events in our community.

I am happy to report that we have but one more hurdle to cross and this is where I need your help. On Monday, Oct. 15, at 5 p.m., the Michigan City Port Authority at its lakefront office will open and approve bids for the lease of the pavilion behind the yacht club and the land under the deck of the building.

You see, the club house property is only within the foundation of the building and the attached deck is not on club property. There is a problem in this process in that the area proposed to lease is far too large and too expensive for the new entity to consider and this board needs to know how you feel.

So if you agree that:

1. A public restaurant at the site of the Michigan City Yacht Club would be an asset to the community ... speak out.

2. That the Michigan City Yacht Club should continue its mission of boater education and events as it has the last 75 years ... speak out.

3. That the tourism a fine restaurant would bring along with the Yacht Club attraction would benefit La Porte County ... speak out.

Please come to the meeting Monday, Oct. 15, if you would like to support this process.

Ed Arnold

LaPorte

[Roger Kaputnik]

this seems so obvious

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...;ArticleID=5554

Yacht Club Bids Reflect Varied Visions

Deborah Sederberg
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - The Michigan City Port Authority directed its attorney Monday to review two bid proposals for leasing the Yacht Club, then report to the operations committee, which will make its recommendation at the Nov. 5 board meeting.

Jeff Katz read two bids at the meeting, one received Friday from Mark Johnson, Bourbonais, Ill., the other received Monday from the corporation 12 on the Lake.

The Johnson bid proposes to tear down the present building and rebuild. It also calls for locating a couple of residential condominiums on an upper level, and provide space for Yacht Club activities.

Zoning law does not permit the location of residential units above a restaurant, but Johnson could approach the Board of Zoning Appeals for a change.

Asked about his current business interests, Johnson said, "I do a number of things."

He said he definitely plans to make his restaurant a 12-month operation.

Local attorney Patrick Donoghue, speaking for the Yacht Club, said, "We do not know Mr. Mark Johnson."

Johnson said, "I have spoken with Yacht Club members a number of times."

The principals of 12 on the Lake are Ed Arnold, La Porte, and Richard Mott. The latter is a partner in the North Pond restaurant in Chicago's Lincoln Park.

Mott, who also owns a string of small restaurants called the Plum Cafes and a catering business, has a home in 7 Beachwalk.

The Arnold-Mott bid proposes a season of just six or seven months.

Last week, in a letter to Anvil Chorus, Arnold said the bid requirements are too much. He objected to being required to rent the picnic pavilion as well as the restaurant property.

Even in Chicago, it is difficult to fill the otherwise successful North Pond in January, February and March. "It's in a park and in winter, it feels too isolated to some diners," Mott said. He wonders how many diners would relish a trip to Michigan City's lakefront during the coldest months of the year.

The asking price for the 14,909 square feet of property is $14,909 per year, Katz said.

"Fair market value of the premises has been appraised at $1 per square foot," he said. "Recognizing the difficulty in a new start-up restaurant, the MCPA board has decided to assist a potential developer by granting free rent for a period of two years. Assuming lease commencement date of Jan. 1, 2008, first rent payment will not be due until Jan. 1, 2010."

In addition, the board will not charge the tenant for use of the parking areas surrounding the premises other than reimbursement for snow-removal costs.

The lease comes to a little more than $1,200 per month.

The 12 on the Lake bid proposes to pay the monthly rate for only six or seven months.

Contact Deborah Sederberg at dsederberg@thenewsdispatch.com.

[JHeath]

The 12 on the Lake bid proposes to pay the monthly rate for only six or seven months.

So what would they do the other 5-6 months? Sublet the property to someone else?
I'm not sure that either plan sounds feasible from this limited amount of info.

[Dave]

$1200 a month? for 14000 square feet? Am I missing something, or does that sound ridiculously low to anyone else? What all does that include, indoor space vs. outdoor space?

[Southsider2k12]

I am glad someone else said that... I was under the impression the going rate in MC was more like $6-$8/sq. ft. I can't imagine what "Lakefront" retail property would be at...

[Roger Kaputnik]

Heck, for 1200 a month, I's ready to move in!

[Dave]

Heck, for 1200 a month, I's ready to move in!

Hey, you and me both! With 14000 square feet, we wouldn't bump into each other for weeks at a time!

[Roger Kaputnik]

And a real kitchen! First dinner: Lamb chops with curry sauce, dirty rice, and champignons au vin.

[JHeath]

And a real kitchen! First dinner: Lamb chops with curry sauce, dirty rice, and champignons au vin.

And, it has a dining room large enough to fit all of us...

[Ang]

Let me know when and I'll fly in. Someone will need to pick me up at the bus station.

[Southsider2k12]

If you come into Chicago, I'll take care of you. I am only blocks from union station.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I am not a dessert maker, so you will have to fill up at dinner.

[Ang]

Okay, okay. I'll bring cheese cake!

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...&TM=45755.2

New Bid Proposal Given For Yacht Club
12 on the Lake says it will run a restaurant at the site 11 months of the year, up from seven.

Deborah Sederberg
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - One of the bidders for the Michigan City Yacht Club has upped the ante, saying they would keep it open 11 months of the year.

At a Port Authority meeting last week, board attorney Jeff Katz opened two bids from people who would like to operate a restaurant at the old Yacht Club.

One was from Mark Johnson of Bourbonnais, Ill,.

The other is from a corporation called 12 on the Lake. It includes developer Ed Arnold of La Porte and Richard Mott. The Arnold-Mott proposal calls for seasonal use of the deck and pavilion, with a consequent reduction in rent.

Mott and Arnold have a contract with the Michigan City Yacht Club which specifies space for the Yacht Club to use for social purposes and food. That contract is contingent on a lease agreement with the Port Authority on property surrounding the building.

The Yacht Club owns the property resting on its foundation, Katz said. However, the Port Authority owns property under the deck and entryway.

The Port Authority is seeking a 12-month lease for a total of $14,909 per year, but the first two years would be rent free.

Now 12 on the Lake proposes to operate the restaurant and possibly a renovated and heated pavilion for 11 months, "closing in January for maintenance."

Katz said a bidder may increase a bid, "and it becomes effective when other bidders are notified."

Johnson's bid indicated he would tear down the Yacht Club and build a new one with room for condominiums on the top floor. The area currently is not zoned for residential use. That change would need to be approved by the Michigan City Plan Commission.

Although Yacht Club attorney Patrick Donoghue has not met with Johnson, he said a couple of other Yacht Club members have.

While he did not disclose the amount offered by Mott and Arnold, Donoghue said it would be about enough to erase the Yacht Club's debts.

In a news release, Arnold said he believes the plan he and Mott have developed "would breathe new life into (the Yacht Club) facility and bring a wonderful lakefront restaurant to Michigan City. In addition to a major renovation of the existing facility, the pavilion located behind the clubhouse would be turned into a first-class meeting and banquet hall."

He said groups of up to 200 would be able to use it for weddings, Christmas parties and special events.

He envisions enclosing the pavilion in glass and installing a fireplace.

He believes the restaurant could be ready to open in April.

"The theme of the facilities would be nautical, in keeping with the Yacht Club tradition and the menu would be upscale but moderate in pricing," Arnold said.



Contact Deborah Sederberg at dsederberg@thenewsdispatch.com.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I smell another fait accompli.