City tells non-profit to pay up or move out -- proper asset management, or cheap land grab?

Over the weekend, the Chronicle reported that the City of Houston wants to terminate its lease with the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation and sell the land to developers.

Talk about a crass move.

The center -- which permanently houses and provides health and care services, workshops and employment opportunities for mentally retarded adults -- has the misfortune of being located on a prime piece of real estate that developers covet.

It wasn't always so. Back in 1963 -- when the center signed a 99-year lease with the city for $1 a year -- the five-acre property was home to an abandoned tuburculosis hospital that nobody wanted. The center agreed to take over the land, build a complete complex and provide ongoing care for this oft-forgotten population. They've been doing so ever since, with the support and assistance from a wide range of charities, foundations and corporate partners.

Now, with high-rise living gaining in popularity here, the land is very valuable, and the city wants to cash in. Calling the 99-year lease illegal due to city charter, officials say the facility must either increase its rent payments to market rates (around $200,000 a year) or find a new location.

This is a one of those moves that makes you shake your head.

Yes, the land is valuable. Yes, no doubt it would sell in a heartbeat and developers could build towers for rich folks. But evicting the a long-standing Houston institution is just flat-out cold and wrong.

This is more than a PR disaster. It's a reminder of what we truly value in our society.

The quick-term gains from the sale of that land would be spent and forgotten in a few short months. The center -- left to function as it has for 40-plus years -- can provide for the city's most vulnerable residents for decades to come.

Surely there's someone at the city who calculate what that is worth.

The good news is that the center is fighting back. blogHouston points us to this new website, Save the Center.org, which is designed to muster support for the facility's plight. And if you read some of the comments on the blogHouston post, you'll see that the city's move isn't a popular one.

Of course, there are always two sides to every story. Mayor Bill White told the Chronicle that a number of non-profits have sub-market leases on prime, close-in real estate. He believes the city has a responsibility to better manage its assets and tax base, and that proceeds from a sale of the land could be used to fund grants to non-profits.

What do you think?

Disclosure: My former employer, Tenneco Energy, was a strong supporter of the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation. The band I played in at the time -- composed of Tenneco employees -- performed several times at the center for holiday parties and events. We saw first-hand the value of the center ... and the dignity and human spirit of the residents there.