By C.J. Carnacchio

Leader Editor

A local transportation organization is about to become a landlord.

Last week, the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) board voted 9-0 to approve the terms of a 41-month lease with PYP Ventures. The company will rent 10,000 square feet of space inside NOTA’s new 20,000-square-foot building at 675 S. Glaspie St. in Oxford Village.

Earlier this year, NOTA spent $1.1 million of its $2.6 million fund balance to buy the building to house its operations and vehicles. The authority is currently in the midst of spending approximately $500,000 more from its fund balance to renovate the place so it can move there from its headquarters in Lake Orion.

PYP Ventures provides outdoor fencing and enclosure systems for cats and dogs under the brand names Purrfect Fence, Dog-Proofer and Habitat Haven.

PYP Ventures currently operates out of a 5,000-square-foot building in Orion Township, but Mike Daley, company president, told the NOTA board, “We need more space.”

“We just acquired another small outdoor pet enclosure business [Habitat Haven],” Daley said.

Under the lease, PYP will begin paying NOTA $1,500 per month to lease a portion of the space for storage purposes. This will last from Nov. 1 through March 31, 2020.

PYP Ventures will officially move in on April 1 and begin paying a monthly rent of $4,000. This will continue through March 31, 2023. Daley indicated PYP Ventures will have two to three employees there “at any given time.”

Over its life, the lease is expected to generate a total of $151,500 for NOTA. According to NOTA Executive Director Lynn Gustafson, this money “will pay for a majority of our operational costs to live” in the new building.

In addition to paying rent, Gustafson said PYP Ventures will be responsible for 50 percent of the building’s insurance premiums and snow/lawn maintenance costs, plus any property taxes for the 10,000 square feet it will occupy. PYP will also be responsible for its own utilities.

NOTA is seeking a property tax exemption for the half of the building that will be utilized as its headquarters.

“We’ve applied for tax-exempt status, but we haven’t received notification that we’ve (got) it . . . We’re assuming we’re going to get it, but we don’t have it yet,” she said.

To accommodate its tenant, NOTA is anticipating spending $28,668 on a list of improvements. When the lease is signed, PYP will be required to immediately pay $16,500 to NOTA, which includes a $5,000 security deposit, $7,500 for the rent from Nov. 1 through March 31, 2020, and $4,000 for the April 2020 rent.