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Marina del Rey : County to Negotiate Lease

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Los Angeles County supervisors have agreed to open negotiations to reduce the rent on the exclusive Marina City Club in Marina del Rey after being told the developer has suffered significant losses and may close the facility.

Like all businesses in the publicly owned marina, the Marina City Club operates on a long-term lease with the county.

Westside developer Jerome Snyder argues the athletic and social club has never been profitable because the rent the county charges--15% of club memberships and initiation fees--is too high.

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“It consistently has lost money,” said Ted Reed, director of the county Department of Beaches and Harbors. “They are trying to turn it around, but it just is not there.”

Reed urged the supervisors to authorize him to negotiate a lower rent level. He noted that a racquetball club in the marina pays the county 6% rent.

But Supervisor Gloria Molina questioned why the county should consider cutting the rent and reducing its income from the property. “If he doesn’t have a capability of making money on it,” Molina said of Snyder, “maybe there is another person who can.”

Revenues from the marina are used to support county social programs.

Molina suggested looking for a different operator for the club. “They must be doing something wrong, and it might be the exclusiveness of it all,” she said. “In order to make money, people might have to give up that exclusive aspect of it.”

Snyder said in an interview that the club has lost $50,000 a month for the past three years. “We are getting killed on the club,” he said. “We need relief on this or we’ll have to shut it down.”

An appraiser will be hired to determine the value of the club and suggest new rent levels. The issue ultimately will be resolved either through negotiation or arbitration, Reed said.

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