Tomorrow, the Bethune Administration and City Council will concern itself with final approval of a new lease by Winnas Bakery in the Arts and Innovation District. The property was previously leased by Le Manna Bread. The building is owned by taxpayers of the city.
Le Manna owners have been experiencing “various personal issues” since opening in 2021 and wish to sell their business.
Assistant City Manager Brian Tucker announced that an agreement had been reached to exchange the termination of the lease for the acquisition of the business’s “Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment.” The tenant’s initial investment of over $400,000 in equipment will now be taken on by the city, including items such as chairs, tables, refrigerators, displays, utensils, mixing equipment, and ovens, essentially preparing a storefront for the incoming business.
City Council approved the new lease in its first reading. Tucker’s statement implies that Le Manna fell behind on its lease, leading the city to seize fixtures as overdue payments.
“Candidly, we’re getting a good deal,” Tucker said.
The city was looking for the right match for the site and had intentions for Winnas Bakery to assume the lease. Winnas previously operated in what is known as the Cozy Corner building in the same district. Mayor Brenda Bethune owns the Cozy Corner building and leased it to Winnas.
Mayor Bethune now owns the furniture, fixtures, and equipment in that building, resulting in a financial gain (at no investment) for her at that location.
ANOTHER ARTS AND INNOVATION DISTRICT FAILURE
MyrtleBeachSC News spoke with Terrance Butler (known as TBird) today concerning his lease in the Arts and Innovation District for ESA Fitness Center. Vital Smoothie Cafe located at 515 9th Ave. N. was part of the ESA brand.
ESA Fitness Center has been owned and run by Terrance Butler for approximately 13 years.
We called Terrance this morning and learned he is meeting with the city to terminate his lease this afternoon. City sources tell us he is 5 months behind on his below market rated lease with the city.
Those sources have mentioned a potential tenant for the 515 9th Avenue location. Talks are ongoing to lease the site to a CCU associated business (perhaps the Long Bay Theatre) for the upcoming CCU Theatre debut. The lease would begin immediately upon a city council vote.
Mayor Brenda Bethune has close ties to the Long Bay Theatre
The property, like in the Winnas situation, was not offered for bids to the highest lease bidder.
- Competitive Procurement Principles: South Carolina law mandates that local governments adopt rules that “embody sound principles of competitive procurement”. This means they should aim for fair and open processes when acquiring goods and services, but it doesn’t specifically address leasing real property.
- Selling/Leasing Municipal Property: Municipalities can sell or lease real property (including buildings) by ordinance and personal property by resolution.
- Procurement Requirements: While procurement requirements generally apply to buying goods or services, they don’t usually apply to selling or leasing property.
- Local Policy: Whether a municipality chooses to include competitive bidding for leasing city-owned buildings is a local policy decision, not a state mandate.
- Examples of Local Policies: Some cities might choose to use competitive bidding for leases, while others may not, depending on local circumstances and policies.
- South Carolina Code Section 5-7-40: This section outlines the authority of municipalities to sell or lease real property by ordinance and personal property by resolution.
- South Carolina Code Section 11-35-1520: This section outlines the requirements for issuing invitations for bids, including specifications and contractual terms.
We have labeled the Arts and Innovation District, the arts and indifference district.
Why was the Arts and Innovation District named as such? There have been several peculiar decisions made by the city in this area.
An NGO known as the Immigration Center is situated in this district. It facilitated the arrival of 30,000 immigrant Brazilians and other Lations during the Biden and Bethune Administration, operating in unison. When we first broke this revelatory article, city residents were largely indifferent.
The city has invested $80 million of Market Common, Dell Webb, and Grande Dunes residents’ money in the Arts and Innovation District.
The city received only one bid for the CCU Theatre paying a king’s ransom per square foot to build the theatre. See the previous link for details. “All in”, the city is paying $1,977 per square foot to build the theatre.
The Arts and Innovation District leases are rented at rates below market value and are essentially subsidized by city taxpayers. Nevertheless, businesses within the Arts and Innovation District still struggle and close down.
Large portions of key land around the area are actually owned by Mayor Brenda Bethune. Mayor Bethune appears to be the only winner in any of this artificially generated government sponsored capitalism efforts.
There is neither local nor tourist foot traffic at this government-made business location. Dell Webb, Grande Dunes and Market Common residents rarely visit shops and restaurants in the Arts and Innovation district.
City taxpayers simply are not connecting to the reality that the city keeps pouring more and more of their hard earned tax dollars into the never ending hole known at the Arts and Innovation district, however.
It is truly the Arts and Indifference District.
Local News Via - MyrtleBeachSC.com
