If you are not already listening to the Intersection podcast, you should! Follow the link in the article to learn tons about Google+Mountain View.

The former owner did okay - selling for $12 million and retaining some kind of lease. If he does not like the lease, he should have talked to an attorney before signing it. Stop whining.

@Brad Are you under the impression the owner of Sports Page made 12M and is whining? WRONG, he retained the lease after land was sold but may be stuck possibly with a 30K prop tax bill for property he never owned. Apologies are in order. Like every other small business owner around here who is paying rent, his business will be replaced with yet another tech office building.

APRIL 2015 - LinkedIn first bought the property in 2015 from a Gazzara family trust... "Rob Graham, owner of the Sports Page, said he didn’t have details on the pending transaction. The property owner, a family trust headed by local real estate broker Stephen Gazzera" "Gazzera family purchased the land at the end of World War II" source Bizjournal Web Link


April 2017 - about sale of Sports Page land to Google...."While his landlord may be changing, Sports Page owner Rob Graham said that his bar is still open for business."
Web Link

All the character is being crushed out of the City of Mountain View, take photos of Tied House and Chez TJ, they will be going to the trash compactor same as Sports Page.

I'm missing something here. How is the lessee responsible for the property taxes? Because he owns the Sports Page business? But he doesn't own the land, right?
Let's hope he doesn't get squashed like a bug like so many others have...

"Google officials did not immediately respond to the Voice's requests for comment."

Of course they didn't. Googzilla is alive and well. The Sports Page will be out of that location a lot sooner than many of you think. Not even Mothra and the Luminous Fairies can help now.

Sayonara Mountain View.

@Neighbor

Listen to the podcast interview of the owner. He'll explain why he's responsible for the taxes among other things.

Plus, I would really like to know the name of the outside company that's doing Google's dirty work here.

Web Link

If you rent and your lease is up, nothing to force the owner to renew your lease. Not even rent control can bypass that.

What Google is doing is fair and square.

Sports Page is likely on a triple net lease, in which the tenant is responsible for paying the property taxes (as well as utilities, insurance, maintenance). It's very common for retail properties

@Renting v Owning - I don't agree what Google is doing is 'fair and square', they are keeping the guy in the dark and not returning phone calls. In my book that is dirty pool. Company representatives have "repeatedly given him assurances they would take care of him, possibly setting him up at a new location nearby", that remains to be seen. Clearly Google could change the terms of the lease to gross/full service lease, in which case they would pay prop tax (30K a drop in the ocean for them).

I assume he must have a net lease, but it would seem Google could modify the terms of the lease (the decent thing to do IMO!). I have a rental and I have modified the lease to allow tenants, even to reduce the rent mid-lease.

Regarding tenant paying prop tax, it's common in commercial leases. In a net lease, the landlord charges a lower base rent for the commercial space, plus some or all of "usual costs," which are expenses associated with operations, maintenance, and use that the landlord pays. These can include real estate taxes. source: Web Link

Ah the difference in retail commercial space and rental house. Buy a house and you are locked into keeping the rent the same no matter how much more you pay for it.