$19,519

See this house?

This house is located at 16245 Princeton Street in Detroit, Michigan.  It is has 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2,306 square feet.  What does this house have to do with Peggy Jean's Pies?  You can currently buy this house for SIXTEEN DOLLARS LESS THAN CONTRACTOR STEVE'S BID TO FINISH OUR SPACE.  (Shouting fully intended).

Detroit house:  $19,500 PJP V 2.0: $19,516 (not including the electrical bid because he didn't have that back yet).

Oh. My. Gosh.

For those of you who like detail, here is the breakdown:

Finish, prime, and paint the walls: $3,800 Plumbing: $6,500 Build counter space $1,500 Handicap rails in bathroom: $500 100 Sq Ft of concrete countertop:  $1,000 Stain, seal and wax the floor: $2,500 HVAC: $2,419 Electrical: No bid response Contractor Fee: $1,000 Permits: $300

The lack of electrical work in this figure scares me.  I bet after seeing that number, I might be able to buy TWO houses in Detroit.  This cost also doesn't include any of the fixtures...so the sinks and the concrete and the paint...just add that cost in as well.

We have some negotiating room in our lease to cover "tenant improvement plans", so in some cases, the Kroenke Group may pay a certain amount toward finishing out the space.  Is there room for $20,000?  No clue.  On the bright side, this is a space that has never been rented before and perhaps that provides some motivation to the owner.  On the down side, the owner owns thousands of retail spaces and a basketball team, so 1,000 square feet to some pie bakers?  May not really be on his radar.

Next steps:  find out what can negotiated and what can't be negotiated.  Or look at relocation plans to Detroit.

PS...we went to the food handler class tonight and I'll probably post about that tomorrow.  In the meantime, just know that there are some things in public service videos that you can't unsee.

PPS...order your Thanksgiving pies online today so we focus on pies and don't dwell on the whole "spend $16 less and get a whole house in Detroit" thing.  http://tinyurl.com/peggyjeanspies.