Mayor Tammy gets new neighbor: Rep. Fulcher to base district office in Meridian City Hall
Mayor Tammy de Weerd may be getting a new neighbor in City Hall: incoming U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher.
According to documents filed with the Meridian City Clerk, Meridian native Russ Fulcher is looking to lease space from his hometown’s city hall for his congressional district office. Congressmen, starting with former Rep. Walt Minnick, have rented out the space since 2009.
Current U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador rents the same space there for his district office, according to his website.
“I wanted to keep the address in Meridian — it’s my roots,” Fulcher said in a phone interview Monday.
Eight to 10 people will staff the Meridian office, Fulcher’s largest in Idaho between two others he is setting up in Lewiston and Couer d’Alene. He said he plans to spend half of his time based out of Meridian, and half in Washington, D.C.
Under the agreement, Fulcher would pay $1,881 per month for 1,812 square feet of space in City Hall, 33 E. Broadway Ave. That means Fulcher would pay $12.45 per square foot per year. That’s the same rent Labrador has paid for space there.
“That’s within the competitive range” for downtown, said Fulcher, who worked as a real estate agent in Meridian.
But Steve Winger, associate broker at Colliers International, previously told the Statesman that commercial rents go for around $18 per square foot per year in downtown Meridian.
And $18 per square foot is what Minnick originally paid the city when he rented the office space from 2009 to 2010 — or $2,718 per month, about $1,000 more than what Labrador’s current rent or what Fulcher could pay.
City Attorney Bill Nary said that’s because the building was new in 2009, and that Minnick’s rent included renovations to the vacant space including carpeting and lighting installation.
“The purpose of this lease wasn’t to compete with the marketplace,” Nary said. “It’s an apples and oranges argument in relation to other commercial real estate downtown — we’re not in the same business.”
Fulcher said he did not negotiate the lease agreement.
Meridian City Council will vote Tuesday, Dec. 18 on whether to approve the lease agreement.
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Mayor Tammy gets new neighbor: Rep. Fulcher to base district office in Meridian City Hall."
