Bountiful's redevelopment agency spent $2.4 million on a Main Street property and leases 135 South Main to a restaurant
The agency's fund balance fell by nearly half in fiscal 2025 after a property purchase and $1.34 million in small-business loans. Separately, its board ratified a lease of 135 South Main Street to Lucky Slice LLC at $4,000 a month or 6% of defined gross profits.
Continuing story: Auditing Bountiful
Bountiful's redevelopment agency ended fiscal 2025 with a fund balance of $2,924,220, down $2,866,531, or 49.5%, from a year earlier, according to the city's audited annual report. [1]
The report says spending on special redevelopment projects included a $2,411,492 property purchase and $405,766 in remodel costs. The agency also made two new small-business loans totaling $1,340,000. [1]
The agency reported $62,793 in new lease revenue from leasing back the Main Street property. The report says the remaining fund balance is assigned to eligible redevelopment projects. [1]
The 135 South Main lease
On May 13, 2025, City Attorney Brad Jeppsen told the agency's board that the city had already entered into a lease with Lucky Slice LLC for 135 South Main Street and asked the board to ratify it because the agency owns the property, according to the minutes. [3]
The board voted 6-0 to ratify it. No conflicts of interest were recorded. [3]
Jeppsen's staff report says the City Council approved the agreement on March 25, 2025. [2]
The annual report does not give the address of the Main Street property it bought, and the records reviewed do not say whether it is 135 South Main. [1][3]
The lease terms
The lease in the board's packet names the redevelopment agency as landlord and sets a five-year term beginning Dec. 1, 2025, which then extends automatically for two more five-year terms. [2]
The tenant pays the greater of $4,000 a month in base rent or 6% of its monthly "gross profits," which the lease defines as the tenant's total revenue from the premises less sales tax and other government-imposed taxes. Base rent rises 3% a year. [2]
The staff report describes the percentage rent as 6% of "gross sales." [2]
The lease gives the tenant a right of first refusal to buy the property and sets liquidated damages of $500 a day if the tenant fails to operate. The landlord delivers the building with bathrooms, heating and air conditioning, and a grease trap. [2]
The signature lines on the copy in the packet are blank. [2]
Loans create amounts owed back to the agency and are not grants. The lease terms are from the unsigned copy in the meeting packet; The Ledger has not reviewed the executed lease or rent records. No record reviewed suggests misconduct.
Sources
- Bountiful City · FY2025 annual comprehensive financial report
- Bountiful Redevelopment Agency · May 13, 2025 agenda packet and lease
- Bountiful Redevelopment Agency · May 13, 2025 minutes
Reporting by The Utah Ledger from the public records above. AI-assisted, checked against those records.