When San Diego LGBT Pride purchased its new office building in 2009 for $ 1,030,000, there was concern among the community that it was too pricey for the organization to afford. Five years later, those worries may become a reality as the remaining mortgage on the building is now due. In order to avoid having to pay off the large lump sum, San Diego Pride has put the building up for sale and is exploring their options.
“We have the building on the market,” confirmed Stephen Whitburn, the executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride. “Whether or not we sell the building remains to be seen.”
When Pride bought the 4,600 square foot building in 2009, it came with a balloon payment mortgage. This type of mortgage allows for smaller, manageable monthly payments for the first five years. At the end of the five year mortgage term, the remaining cost of the building purchase is due, which is typically a large sum, known as a balloon payment.
With a final payment of about $ 700,000 due later this year, San Diego Pride has no choice but to search for other options.
Rather than sell, Whitburn is hopeful that the organization will be able to refinance the building. They are currently in the process of taking bids to refinance the mortgage to a more reasonable cost and hope to have the matter settled within the next couple of months.
“There’s no question that we’ll be able to refinance if that’s what we decide to do,” said Whitburn. “We’ve already received proposals from lenders.”
Although Whitburn wasn’t working with Pride when the building was bought, he assumes that refinancing after the five year period has always been the plan.
However, Whitburn is not completely opposed to selling the building and finding a new location if the right opportunity presented itself.
“If we’re able to get a good price for this building and find another building that is even better as a location for the community then we would seriously consider selling this building and buying a new one,” Whitburn said. “But at this point, I’m not sure that I see this happening.”
In the meantime, San Diego Pride will keep the building on the market as a potential option. It is currently for sale for $ 1,175,000.
San Diego Pride is happy with the current building and feels that its two conference rooms have served a purpose as a meeting place for the community for the past five years. If Pride stays in their present space, it hopes to expand the size of the conference rooms in order to host larger meetings in the future.
“Whether or not we stay in this building or find a new location, we want to make sure that it’s convenient for the community and that it provides another much needed meeting space for the community,” said Whitburn. “We’ll be happy if we stay here or if we move somewhere even better that will be just fine too.”
