The City of San Diego has agreed to a lease of downtown office space that is expected to save millions of dollars over the next five fiscal years, Mayor Bob Filner announced today.
Employees of the Public Utilities and the Engineering and Capital Projects departments will move from a building at 600 B St. to a more modern facility at 525 B St. in the next couple of months, Filner said. The lease at the current building was due to expire in about one month.
He said that based on the rate of $2.62 per square foot at the current location, compared to $1.25 per square foot at the new structure, the city will save a total of $15.8 million through the 2018 fiscal year -- including nearly $1.2 million in the upcoming fiscal year.
"The move is basically across the street so the employees will not be affected in all the routines that they have in parking and car pools and whatever transportation they use, so we think it will be a far more efficient way to conduct business,'' Filner said.
"We're moving to a building that is more modern, that's better for morale,'' the mayor said. "It is one in that the floors we are leasing are bigger and laid out more efficiently.''
The mayor said that since the new building has retail space on the first floor, the city will set up a ground floor location for residents to pay water bills.
The new lease was negotiated by Jason Hughes, a tenant representative who recently joined the mayor's office as a volunteer. He said the new lease covers 77,000 square feet on floors three through six.
Filner said Hughes is a creative person who is helping to develop a comprehensive strategy for the use of city buildings.
