Rent prices will likely increase for tenants in the General Wait House (GWH) – a town-owned, non-residential building on Main Street in Waitsfield that mainly hosts nonprofit organizations.
GWH Commission member AnnMarie Harmon presented a draft of the updated lease terms to the Waitsfield Select Board at its August 26 meeting.
Rent prices in the building have remained unchanged for about a decade, ranging from $108 to $325 monthly – with the town collecting $12,000 annually. The proposed increases would have the town collecting about $20,000 each year, which Harmon said would allow the town to cover most of the building’s direct expenses.
The proposed increases range from $14 to $52 monthly. The Waitsfield Historical Society will see the biggest increase of $312 per month for its 250-square-foot office space, after inhabiting three units in the building at $0 monthly for 25 years, according to Harmon.
Select board members and Waitsfield Historical Society board of directors’ member Alice Peal pointed out that the society contributed $55,000 to buy the property, as well as an estimated $78,000 for renovations and other expenses over the years.
In addition to the historical society, the building hosts the Mad River Valley Planning District, the Mad River Path, Friends of the Mad River and licensed clinical mental health counselor Beth Kendrick.
A document created by the GWH Commission shows that new rent rates fall below the “going rate” of $1.25 per square foot for local commercial space.
Harmon said the commission, which has representation from each tenant in the GWH, will be fundraising for upcoming building repairs. It has $70,500 in its reserve fund.
She said the commission thought it was an appropriate time to raise rents in light of the upcoming repair work. Select board chair Christine Parisi said that rent hasn’t increased for tenants in past years because “it just wasn’t done, and nobody dealt with the property.”
The select board will vote on the new lease terms in an upcoming September or October board meeting.
While Harmon asked board members to consider raising the new rates by half in the first year in order to reduce the burden for tenants, select board members said they would prefer to give tenants at least 60 days of notice, with rent increases slated for January 1, 2025.
The select board meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 pm, in-person at the Waitsfield town office or on Zoom.
