Short Essay # 3: Case Study: MOSI - Somasekhara Reddy Medam
What three strategies should MOSI adopt in responding to its Fowler Avenue land problem?
Tampa Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) is being operated by an independent non-profit foundation. It has entered into an agreement with Hillsborough county to provide the land and funds for construction of buildings in 1992 and county is paying the construction loan cost. Museum is located in 71 acres land on Fowler Avenue wherein a 3.1-acre vacant road frontage parcel is owned by an elderly couple. Now the old couple decided to sell the land and their children are pushing for cash deal of $1.3 million. Given the robust real estate development in the area, multiple buyers are interested in …show more content…
By 1980, the museum had its own small building with the help of $5 million federal grant. A group volunteers started helping at the museum that later grew to become a non-profit foundation called Friends of the Museum of Science and Industry. In 1983, chair of the museum advisory board, Dr Harvey started a new direction for the museum with 2 memos sent to the county. Subsequently the county agreed to let the Friends of the Museum of Science Inc, retain all the revenue that helped in significant expansion of the Museum. By 1992, as part of the master plan for expansion of museum and new campus, County and the Friends reached a new agreement wherein county government provided land and funds for construction and the non-profit agreed to take over the employees and operations of the museum independently, ending the status of the museum as a line …show more content…
The children of land owner are pushing for a cash deal and are in a strong bargaining position.
Under these circumstances, best course of action for county is purse the below 3 options in the given order:
1. Take a loan to buy the land and resolve the immediate problem of losing the land. Once the sale agreement is made, foundation has options to seek a partner to operate a compatible business that would provide necessary revenue to pay for the loan. Additionally, the foundation should also consider raising admission prices reasonably to improve their revenue while ensuring that museum is accessible to full spectrum of parents and students.
2. Partnership with a major retailer – This option allows the museum to gain the control of the land for operating a compatible business. Foundation has already been engaged in similar activities by running a catering business and would not be a big shift in their operating activities. The challenge is to identify and convince a major retail brand in time for the deal which is a major risk. Board has a diverse set of members from the industry and could help in expediting the
What three strategies should MOSI adopt in responding to its Fowler Avenue land problem?
Tampa Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) is being operated by an independent non-profit foundation. It has entered into an agreement with Hillsborough county to provide the land and funds for construction of buildings in 1992 and county is paying the construction loan cost. Museum is located in 71 acres land on Fowler Avenue wherein a 3.1-acre vacant road frontage parcel is owned by an elderly couple. Now the old couple decided to sell the land and their children are pushing for cash deal of $1.3 million. Given the robust real estate development in the area, multiple buyers are interested in …show more content…
By 1980, the museum had its own small building with the help of $5 million federal grant. A group volunteers started helping at the museum that later grew to become a non-profit foundation called Friends of the Museum of Science and Industry. In 1983, chair of the museum advisory board, Dr Harvey started a new direction for the museum with 2 memos sent to the county. Subsequently the county agreed to let the Friends of the Museum of Science Inc, retain all the revenue that helped in significant expansion of the Museum. By 1992, as part of the master plan for expansion of museum and new campus, County and the Friends reached a new agreement wherein county government provided land and funds for construction and the non-profit agreed to take over the employees and operations of the museum independently, ending the status of the museum as a line …show more content…
The children of land owner are pushing for a cash deal and are in a strong bargaining position.
Under these circumstances, best course of action for county is purse the below 3 options in the given order:
1. Take a loan to buy the land and resolve the immediate problem of losing the land. Once the sale agreement is made, foundation has options to seek a partner to operate a compatible business that would provide necessary revenue to pay for the loan. Additionally, the foundation should also consider raising admission prices reasonably to improve their revenue while ensuring that museum is accessible to full spectrum of parents and students.
2. Partnership with a major retailer – This option allows the museum to gain the control of the land for operating a compatible business. Foundation has already been engaged in similar activities by running a catering business and would not be a big shift in their operating activities. The challenge is to identify and convince a major retail brand in time for the deal which is a major risk. Board has a diverse set of members from the industry and could help in expediting the