{"id":12861,"date":"2016-03-30T14:40:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T18:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=12861"},"modified":"2016-03-30T15:09:49","modified_gmt":"2016-03-30T19:09:49","slug":"animation-studio-vacates-waterloo-building-with-little-fanfare-leaving-town-holding-most-of-the-lease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/animation-studio-vacates-waterloo-building-with-little-fanfare-leaving-town-holding-most-of-the-lease\/","title":{"rendered":"Animation studio vacates Waterloo building with little fanfare, leaving Town holding most of the lease"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Muskoka Animation Studio (MASH) set up shop in the Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment in 2013, there was hope that it would lead to local tech jobs and perhaps boost Huntsville\u2019s attractiveness as a home for other technology companies. But with the departure of the studio last fall, that optimism may have been short-sighted.<\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n

With almost a year left in their lease, the company quietly pulled the plug at the end of October 2015. Their lease agreement with the Town required them to pay the remaining 11 months of their lease, a total of $38,599.33, but in an agreement worked out between staff and the company, they will instead make a two-month payment representing a \u201creasonable notice period.\u201d The Town will receive $7108.06, about $31,580 less than if the company had fulfilled their lease obligations.<\/p>\n

MASH\u2019s owners cited several challenges, including housing for staff, transportation and the project based nature of their business, as contributing factors in their departure but indicated they\u2019d be interested in returning to Huntsville in the future. The studio’s parent company still maintains operations in Toronto.<\/p>\n

The Town\u2019s Community Development Manager, Scott Ovell, said they took those challenges into account, as well as the perception other companies might have about how the negotiations were handled. \u201cWe would have preferred that they give us more notice. If they do (return to Huntsville) they will need to have a better plan for hiring local and how to be successful here. (This agreement) was sending the right message to that sector that we aren\u2019t going to try to scratch every penny out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Scott Aitchison called the deal a good compromise.<\/p>\n

Trying to get more would be like getting blood from a stone. We would spend more on lawyers.
\nMayor Scott Aitchison<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A report presented to General Committee by staff indicated that the unpaid lease amount was not included as revenue in the 2016 Municipal Budget.<\/p>\n

The space occupied by the animation studio is still vacant, although Ovell said that there is a group interested in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difficulty with that space is that it was originally designed as a wet lab. (MASH) had to do extensive leasehold improvements to get it to where they were happy with it. Outside of that sector, it\u2019s difficult to rent the space. For the group we are working with right now, it\u2019s almost more beneficial to them to have it as a blank canvas.\u201d He added that the Town wants to fill the space and \u201cwon\u2019t say no to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a conversation with Doppler, Ovell said that they\u2019ve been working with the prospective lessees since late November, and that the group may bring multiple tenants to the table. He expects a proposal to be presented to Council in April.<\/p>\n

Doppler readers, do you think the Town made the right call in negotiating a settlement versus persuing legal action to recoup the remaining value of the lease?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Muskoka Animation Studio (MASH) set up shop in the Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment in 2013, there was hope that it would lead to local tech jobs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1903,"featured_media":12862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-12861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-breaking"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnimation studio vacates Waterloo building with little fanfare, leaving Town holding most of the lease - Huntsville Doppler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/animation-studio-vacates-waterloo-building-with-little-fanfare-leaving-town-holding-most-of-the-lease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Animation studio vacates Waterloo building with little fanfare, leaving Town holding most of the lease - 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