Caterpillar Inc., which in May announced plans to move a major division to Tucson, will pay $13.72 per occupied foot and $7.12 per unoccupied foot to lease a downtown building owned by Pima County.
Thatβs according to terms of a lease company officials signed off on, though the county Board of Supervisors still must consider the lease at its June 7 meeting.
The building, at 97 E. Congress St., was once the home of the Pima County Regional Flood Control District.
Its current tenants, including Pima Vocational High School, will move to other locations.
The county expects 300 to 350 Caterpillar employees to eventually occupy the downtown building, and 200 parking spaces will be made available for them in the nearby legal services garage.
The companyβs surface mining and technology division will use the building temporarily while Rio Nuevo builds a $50 million headquarters for the company, west of Interstate 10 and just south of West Cushing Street, where about 650 employees are expected to work.
The lease term is four years, though Caterpillar can terminate it after three years if it gives 180 days notice and pays a $168,000 fee.
The county will also cover $2 million in tenant improvements, 30 percent of which the company has agreed to repay over four years.
Caterpillar will cover operating and maintenance expenses, and pay government property excise fees.
In a memo to county supervisors about the lease, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the arrangement was similar to its lease with Accelerate Diagnostics.
