Agency battles landlord in court
Says building repairs have not been made
The South Middlesex Opportunity Council Inc., a Framingham-based social service agency, is embroiled in a legal battle with its landlord over its downtown building.
The agency is suing the landlord and withholding $82,000 in rent and fees, stating that the building needs repairs. The landlord, in turn, has stated that the agency is trying to get out of its lease early.
The lawsuit, filed last month in Middlesex Superior Court, states that the building has a leaking roof, inadequate heat and hot water, and is infested with squirrels and other rodents. And it states the landlord hasn't addressed the problems adequately.
John Brazilian, an attorney for the Marlborough-based landlord, Framingham 300 Howard LLC, said the company has met all the requirements of the lease and has gone beyond them, making improvements that were not required.''The landlord has met its obligations, and [the agency] is going to be held to the lease."
Brazilian denied the roof is leaking. He said the landlord recently replaced 90 percent of it with durable rubber and was kept from finishing that upgrade at the tenant's request. The landlord also has replaced nine of the building's 11 heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning units, he said, and would have replaced all of them but was prevented from doing so by staff members at the agency.
Any squirrel problem is the tenant's fault, he said. ''If squirrels got in there, it was because they left the doors open, and that's not our responsibility."
In an affadavit filed as part of the case, David DePietri, the trustee for the landlord, said that the agency's executive director, Jim Cuddy, indicated that the agency wants to get out of its lease early. DePietri said that that's the motivation for the lawsuit.
Cuddy couldn't be reached immediately to respond, but he said in an interview this week at the building that the agency filed the complaint as a last resort because of the building's problems and hopes to settle the matter before going to court.
''It seemed like it was the only remedy left to us, to try to correct what we consider to be issues and matters the landlord had not addressed despite our best efforts to get him to."
Cuddy declined to point out the areas that allegedly needed repair but said a reporter was free to look around the building. No obvious signs of damage were visible during a brief tour.
The agency once owned the century-old building it now leases but sold it to the landlord about seven years ago because it was struggling to raise the capital needed for improvements, Cuddy said.
The red-brick building once belonged to the Dennison paper manufacturing company, a major employer in town for decades.
On March 11, an attorney for the agency wrote the landlord a letter, stating the agency would pay future rent into an escrow account until repairs are made.
Brazilian wrote a notice of default to the agency on March 22, stating the agency owed about $82,000 in rent and fees. The agency filed suit two days later.
The nonprofit organization, which is funded through a mix of federal, state, and private funds, entered the 12½-year lease in 1997.
The agency leases more than 54,000 square feet of office space for a monthly rent of $45,200.
From that space, it provides or administers several dozen programs, including mental health and substance abuse services, housing and employment assistance, several homeless shelters, fuel assistance, and health and nutrition services. The agency was established in 1966.
Lisa Kocian can be reached at 508-820-4231 or by email at lkocian@globe.com.
