City Says No to Bid for Hardware Business in Its Webb Way Building

• Wants More Money for Former Real Estate Office

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu city officials have turned down an attempt to bring back a hardware and lumber store to the Civic Center area after a bid by Anawalt Lumber was rejected.
The Anawalt proposal is being described as the lone bid municipal officials received in response to a Request for Proposal for the city-owned building located on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Webb Way that was leased by the Coldwell Banker real estate firm in an arrangement that dated back to when the site was owned by the Malibu Bay Company.
City Manager Jim Thorsen would not discuss Anawalt’s bid other than to say it was too low. He said he could not discuss the proposal specifics because the city is still in the middle of the RFP process since the deadline had been extended. When pressed for details, Thorsen said, “Go talk to Dave [Anawalt, the owner of the company].”
A spokesperson for Anawalt Lumber said that Dave Anawalt, who resides in Malibu, is on vacation and is not currently available for comment.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich made mention of the vacant building this week at a city council meeting, suggesting a lack of income from rental revenues should give the city pause before it considers non-essential expenditures. Rental income from the building stopped at the end of February, according to Thorsen.
The property has been for lease for several months and the municipality has extended the deadline for submitting bids for the building until April 30.
The nearly half-acre commercial zoned property was the focus of attention when the realty firm decided to move out when the city raised the rent and consolidated its offices on Malibu Road.
Coldwell Banker was leasing the site for $5.83 a square foot, which is about $337,000 per year. The city requested a minimum rental amount of $428,000 which is $7.37 a square foot. The realty firm’s lease, which the city assumed in 2006 after acquiring the property, had expired on Dec. 31, 2008.
Malibu officials have stated they are looking for a long-term partnership for the stand-alone building consisting of 4949 square feet.
They are seeking a lease term of 20 to 35 years. They want the minimum annual lease amount plus triple net.
Due to the limitations of the site’s wastewater treatment system, the building cannot accommodate a restaurant or other high wastewater use, according to city officials.
During previous public city council discussions about the building, Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich has suggested since the site is next to Legacy Park, the building might make an ideal center for teens or house a public library. She was told that the building, included as part of a deal to acquire the Chili Cook off site, is encumbered by deed restrictions so the site must be used for commercial use.
When Conley Ulich and other council members expressed interest in undertaking an effort to renegotiate the deed restrictions with Bay Company owner Jerrold Perenchio, City Attorney Christi Hogin told them, “I strongly suggest you understand the financial considerations of our bond projections before you go talk to Mr. Perenchio. You need to understand your ability to pay back the bonds.”
Hogin played a key role in the largely behind-the-scenes negotiations for the purchase of the parcel, the terms of which remain the subject of controversy.