Bradenton center for Holocaust and Jewish education in limbo after property sale

Beverly and Lawrence Newman brought renewed life to a vacant space in the Cortez Commons shopping center nearly five years ago.

“We were going through 2,400 square feet with a realtor, in the dark, with a little tiny flashlight,” Beverly Newman said. “We didn’t get to see what was in store for us until we had already signed on the dotted line and paid. Then they turned on the electricity and we were horrified.”

Discarded computers, records and clothes greeted the Newmans, who spent all of December 2015 cleaning what appeared to be an abandoned call center. Their lease officially began on Jan. 1, 2016, and the new Al Katz Center for Holocaust Survivors and Jewish Learning was born.

Named after Beverly Newman’s father, a Holocaust survivor who died in 2010, the nonprofit is now packed with Jewish artifacts and learning opportunities. The Newmans were especially proud of their deerskin Torah and their Ark of the Covenant replica.

Now, amid the uncertainty created by COVID-19, the Newmans are facing added anxiety under the new landlord for Cortez Commons, 5726 Cortez Road W. in Bradenton. The new owners have denied a lease extension past Oct. 31, leaving the Al Katz Center without a home.

Clover Cortez LLC, an arm of Clover Investment Properties in Tampa, purchased the shopping center for more than $5.38 million in January, according to public records. In December, before the sale closed, a company executive informed the Newmans that rent would increase in 2020.

Chad Keller, the principal and chief operating officer for Clover Investment Properties, said the Newmans’ annual rent would increase from $15,000 to $18,000. The market price, he argued, was closer to $40,000.

“Thank you for being a tenant at Cortez Commons since 2015 and for the valuable service you provide to the community,” Keller said in an email to the Newmans. “We are very excited about the plaza and have plans to do significant improvements and lease up vacant spaces that will positively impact foot traffic in the center and our tenants’ enjoyment of the space.”

“We are confident that the plaza improvements will make a big impact for everyone, and this type of increase helps fund it,” he continued.

In response, the Newmans said they contacted the property owner about a lease extension in July 2019, and about five months later, they were blindsided by the news from their incoming landlord.

With a new year approaching, the Newmans faced a 20 percent increase on their rent, throwing a major wrench in the Al Katz Center’s budget, they said. The Newmans also objected to “footing the bill” for Clover’s planned renovations.

Keller then offered to accept $15,000 and delay the added $3,000 payment, giving the Newmans until April 1 to pay the balance on their increased rent.

“We are very responsible renters and also a very small charity that budgets for the entire year at least six months in advance in order to meet our obligations,” the Newmans responded. “Our budget is extremely tight, and a substantial increase anytime during the year is a major hardship to our charity.”

Moving during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ultimately, the new owners agreed to nine months for $15,000, an amount that was supposed to take Al Katz Center through the entirety of 2020.

The situation grew more dire on May 6, when Keller informed the Newmans that Clover Investment Properties would not renew the lease beyond Oct. 31.

“Our plan is to transform the center into a fully realized commercial space that is filled with long term tenants that are paying the market rents necessary to support continued owner investment into Cortez Commons,” Keller said in an email.

“We have a great deal of respect for the service and education you provide to the community and are confident you will find a suitable location where the organization can thrive,” he continued.

Fearing for their health during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Newmans have asked to continue paying rent through June 2021, allowing them to safely move in less than a year. From the Newmans’ point of view, their situation was a matter of life and death.

In a recent interview, the Newmans said they were afraid to invite a moving crew into the Al Katz Center, potentially exposing themselves to the virus that causes COVID-19. They were equally afraid to visit possible new locations, where the virus may live on surfaces.

The Newmans said their search for a new location was conducted entirely by phone and email over the last several months. They had no viable leads as of Tuesday, and the property company had no intention of changing course.

Questioning the apparent urgency to remove Al Katz Center from its space, the Newmans pointed to more than half a dozen vacancies at Cortez Commons.

“There is literally no business or ethical or moral reason for us to move, other than they don’t want this little Jewish charity in their shopping center,” Beverly Newman said.

“For the first time in our lives, we did not attend services in a synagogue. That’s how seriously we take (COVID-19),” she continued, citing her asthma and chemical sensitivity. “And yet we have two or three men in Tampa deciding that we have to risk our lives and our family’s health in order to move for no reason.”

In a prepared statement, Keller said that Clover Investment Properties was working to improve the Cortez Commons shopping center, and that “substantial capital investments” were underway.

“In cases where leasing relationships are not compatible with the objectives for an asset, we ensure that we give tenants an appropriate amount of notice,” the statement reads.

“Despite the challenges that both tenants and landlords face from COVID-19, showings are occurring in a safe manner and leases are being signed everyday throughout Florida,” it continues. “We wish the Al Katz Center well in their pursuit of new space.”

Looking to the future

The Al Katz Center held its first guest speaker on Jan. 7, 2015, when veteran Frank Towers recounted his part in the liberation of 2,500 Jews from a death train

Working from Suite 5710 in the Cortez Commons plaza, the Newmans expanded to approximately 175 programs a year, offering both Jewish and Holocaust education to anyone in Manatee County.

“In the same way that Black history is important, you have a minority group that is discriminated against, that has a large number of myths attached to it,” Beverly Newman said. “Unfortunately, these are adverse or negative myths. Education is your best tool or vehicle or avenue to bring the truth to the public.”

Cortez Commons was the Al Katz Center’s most recent and long-standing home. Starting in 2012, the nonprofit was housed in Sarasota for two years, followed by one year in a location that sits just across the street from Cortez Commons, the Newmans said.

Their future was filled with uncertainty, but the Newmans promised one thing: the Al Katz Center would continue its mission, even if that meant braving the challenges ahead.

“These people are not going to drive us out of business or existence,” Beverly Newman said. “They are not going to do that because what we’re offering is unique and invaluable to many people.”

To learn more about the Al Katz Center and its offerings, visit www.thealkatzcenter.org.

This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 6:00 AM.