Republic file photo An exterior view of the former Bucceto’s Smiling Teeth Pizza and Pasta in The Commons in downtown Columbus.
An Upland Brewing Company Inc. pizza establishment is set to replace the space formerly occupied by Bucceto’s Smiling Teeth Pizza and Pasta in downtown Columbus.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission on Monday executed a lease agreement for the tenant space at 316 Washington St., which has been vacant since the summer. Bucceto’s owners had informed the commission they did not intend to renew their lease last January.
The redesigned space will “be focused on pizza,” per Redevelopment Commission legal counsel Mary Stroh.
Upland hopes to occupy the location in February and then open a few months after that.
The lease agreement is currently in front of Upland’s legal counsel for one last review and the action taken during the meeting authorizes Commission President Al Roszczyk or his designee to sign the document, Redevelopment Director Heather Pope said.
“We’d hoped to have the lease in front of you all (today) so we could share it, but we weren’t able to get it back from them in time and we wanted to keep this moving.”
The initial lease is for seven years and then Upland will have the option to extend four or five additional years after that.
Construction costs will be paid by Upland as they “make significant investment in the space and in the design,” Stroh told the commission.
“They are working with an architect to make sure that the design is consistent and aesthetically pleasing, so they are doing all of that on their end.”
The final lease will be managed by the Columbus Redevelopment Commission, but the rent will go to the Commons Board.
When the new iteration of the Commons was built in 2011, the commission entered into a master lease agreement with the Commons Board that gave the tenant responsibilities to the Redevelopment Commission. In turn, all of the rental income received from the four spaces in the Commons go directly into its operating budget. The Commons then uses those funds to maintain the building.
“It’s definitely a big revenue curve for the Commons Board because despite all the rentals, it costs a lot to run that building, so those places of retail really helps keep the facility running,” Stroh said.
