2017-10-16 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                              16 OCTOBER 2017


REPORTS DIRECT TO GENERAL COMMITTEE


5                        EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST RESULTS FOR THE COMMERCIAL LEASE OF
                         COUNCIL LAND AT 4 JARRAH ST, COOROY
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                              Property Advisor, Denis Wallace
                                    Corporate Services

Index                               ECM/Subject/46.15 Use of Council Land/Property/4 Jarrah St Cooroy

Attachments                         1.    EOI Evaluation Summary Sheet
                                    2.    Eco Cottages’ Proposed Factory Development


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Council recently undertook an open Expression of Interest (EOI) process seeking a new
commercial tenant for vacant freehold community land in Cooroy’s industrial estate. Only one
formal EOI submission was received from Eco Cottages Pty Ltd, a pre-fabricated building
manufacturer that has operated in the Noosa hinterland since 2006. Eco Cottages proposes to
lease the site to develop a new climate-controlled factory to significantly expand its business.

Council’s EOI assessment panel found the submission to be of a high standard and preliminary
lease provisions have been agreed in principle. The tendered rental achieves a fair market value
and the development poses significant benefits to local employment and economic growth. The
proposal aligns with Noosa’s Local Economic Plan by facilitating growth of a local business
seeking to research new technologies and grow local capacity. The EOI assessment panel
supports Eco Cottages’ submission and recommends Council agree to a commercial lease of the
site for a total term of 10 years.


RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Property Advisor to the General Committee Meeting dated 16
October 2017 regarding the expressions of interest process undertaken for the commercial lease
of Council land at 4 Jarrah St Cooroy (formally described as Lot 2 RP176126), and:
A.                       Agree to enter a commercial lease of the site to Eco Cottages Pty Ltd for a four (4) year
                         term;
B.                       Agree to an initial rent-free period of 4 months and deferral of a further 3 months’ rent
                         payments to the second year of the lease; and
C.                       Authorise the CEO to award two subsequent lease extensions of 3 years, subject to the
                         lessee complying with the terms of the lease.


REPORT
The purpose of this report is to provide the results of a recent Expression of Interest (EOI)
process for the commercial lease of vacant Council land in Cooroy.

Council owns a 5,800m2 industrial allotment at 4 Jarrah Street, Cooroy in freehold (formally
described as Lot 2 RP176126). The site has been unoccupied since the previous tenant, a
concrete supplier, vacated the site in November 2013. An aerial photograph of the site and its
surrounds is shown at Figure 1.


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