- December 16, 2025
The city pays approximately $240,000 a year in rent payments at City Marketplace.
As city officials work on renegotiating its lease at City Marketplace, the Palm Coast City Council wants to weigh other options, including the construction of a City Hall.
At Tuesday’s workshop meeting, City Manager Jim Landon briefed the council on its current lease situation.
The city has been in City Marketplace since November 2008. The original lease called for monthly rent payments of $20,000, or $240,000 annually.
Late last year, City Marketplace went into foreclosure. Now, the city is working on a new lease.
Under the proposed new lease, which would go into effect May 1, the city offices would remain in City Marketplace for another three years. (The new lease is a 3.5-year term, but six months have already passed since the foreclosure process began, and the city has been paying its rent into an escrow account.)
From May 2012, to April 2013, the city would pay $17,000 per month. Then, beginning May 1, 2013, the rent would increase to $19,000 per month. And for the final year, the rent payments would jump back up to $20,000 per month.
While the rent payments would be decreased for a bulk of the lease term, the City Council members agree that owning a building makes long-term financial sense.
“I do believe that City Hall in Town Center would be a good part in economic gardening,” said City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo. “I think it would help spring stuff up.”
The concept, according to Landon, would be to go out to private builders, who would then construct the facility. Then, the city would enter in a lease-to-purchase contract.
City Councilman Bill Lewis was in support of looking at options to build a City Hall.
“It always makes sense,” Landon said. “Eventually, you want to own vs. rent.”
Over the past 6.5 years, the city has paid approximately $1.5 million in rent payments. “We have nothing to show for (that),” Landon added.
City Councilman Bill McGuire said shopping around can’t hurt.
“I think we throw the ball out there to developers and see what happens,” McGuire said.
Also under the proposed lease extension at City Marketplace is an extra unit for another Palm Coast substation for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. It wouldn’t be manned at all times and it also wouldn’t replace the substation located off Old Kings Road. The decision is up to Sheriff Donald Fleming, Landon added.
Because the concept would be a lease-to-purchase, any decision would ultimately be up to the voters.
Before a vote on a City Hall appears on the ballot this fall, city staff will seek interest from the private developers in the meantime.
“If you pull the trigger now, you’re three years out,” Landon said.
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