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Santa Cruz Nonprofit Aiming To Feed Community Lands New Home

Lease of the Year for Santa Cruz/Watsonville

The Teen Kitchen Project signed a 10-year lease for nearly half of 3921 Soquel Drive in Soquel, California. (CoStar)
The Teen Kitchen Project signed a 10-year lease for nearly half of 3921 Soquel Drive in Soquel, California. (CoStar)

The Teen Kitchen Project, a local nonprofit that prepares and delivers meals to cancer patients, the elderly and low-income families across Santa Cruz County, agreed to a 10-year lease at 3921 Soquel Drive in Soquel, California.

The deal has been selected by a panel of local industry professionals as the winner of the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for lease of the year for Santa Cruz/Watsonville.

Michael Schwager, owner of 3921 Soquel, signed the tenant for 4,200 square feet at the 9,600-square-foot multitenant building.

The Teen Kitchen Project aims to give young people skills in cooking healthy meals while learning about the impact of their food choices, according to its website. The group plans to use federal, state, local and private funding of over $1 million for its build-out of a new commercial kitchen and offices.

About the Deal: The lease, at $1.95 per square foot, included six months of free rent and a $200,000 tenant improvement allowance. Base rent is set to increase by 3% annually.

What the Judges Said: “Building was a more difficult fit for the tenant,” Matt Shelton, owner/broker, J.R. Parrish Commercial Real Estate.

They Made it Happen: Reubin Helick, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield; Michael Schwager, president, Schwager Davis and Schwager Development.