Common Area Expenses

Common Area Expenses. Means all reasonable expenses paid or incurred by Landlord in connection with managing, maintaining, monitoring, operating, and repairing the Building and the common areas of the Property in a manner deemed reasonable and appropriate by Landlord and includes, without limitation, all reasonable costs and expenses of the following: (i) operating, repairing, lighting, and cleaning the internal and external common areas of the Property, as well as all costs incurred in policing and regulating... traffic and depreciation of movable machinery and equipment; (ii) keeping the driveways, parking areas, sidewalks and steps 8 free and clear of ice, snow and debris; (iii) maintaining all grass and landscaping on the Property; (iv) electricity, steam and/or any other fuel used in lighting, heating, ventilating and air conditioning the common areas of the Property; (v) maintenance, monitoring, operation and repair of elevators, stairways, lobbies, hallways, walkways, breezeways and all other internal and external common areas of the Building, including (without limitation) repair of normal wear and tear of the roof and caulking, cleaning, repainting, retiling, recarpeting and redecorating all common areas, and paving the driveways and parking areas; (vi) the cost of Insurance on the Property; (vii) sales or use taxes on supplies or services; (viii) management fees not in excess of three percent (3%) of gross rents, and wages, salaries and compensation of all persons engaged in the maintenance, monitoring, operation or repair of the Building (including Landlord's share of all payroll taxes), other than persons above the grade of property manager unless those employees are directly involved in the day to day management and operation of the Building; (ix) legal and accounting expenses (except for costs relating to the negotiation of leases for the Building, the cost of preparing tax returns for the Landlord, negotiations pertaining to the sale or refinancing of the Building or the acquisition of capital items, fees incurred in connection with disputes with tenants and the legal costs in connection with the renewal of leases), engineering and other professional fees and expenses applicable to the management and operation of the Property; (x) the cost of all capital improvements made by Landlord to the Building that result in more efficient operation of the Building or that are required under any governmental law or regulation that was not applicable to the Building at the time it was constructed, the cost of which improvements will be amortized over the useful life of such improvements as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, together with the interest on the unamortized balance at a fluctuating annual rate that is at all times equal to 1-1/2% over the prime interest rate as determined from time to time by Citibank, N.A. ; (xi) charges or assessments imposed on or allocated to the Building and/or Property by the Bennington Corporate Center Association, Inc. other than special assessments which are made for purposes which are primarily capital in nature, except to the extent such amounts are properly chargeable as a capital expenditure and are amortized in accordance with subparagraph (x) above; and (xii) all other items which would be considered as procured or incurred in managing, maintaining, monitoring, operating, or repairing the Building or the common areas of the Property under sound management and accounting principles. "Common Area Expenses" does not include the costs of work Landlord performs for, and/or at the expense of, any particular tenant (including Tenant), which costs will be billed directly to Tenant or such other tenant, as the case may be. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord will be allowed reasonably to allocate the costs of trash removal based on actual use of such service. Common Area Expenses further exclude all of the following: painting or decorating other than public or common areas; interest and amortization of mortgages or unsecured debts; depreciation of the Building except to the extent expressly permitted above; ground rent; salary or other compensation paid to any partners, shareholders, officers, directors or executives of the Landlord or management agent, except to the extent those individuals are directly involved in the day to day 9 management of the Building; original construction costs of the Building; expenses for repairs, replacements or maintenance arising from the initial construction of the Building to the extent such expenses are either (i) reimbursable to Landlord by virtue of warranties from contractors or suppliers or (ii) result by reason of deficiencies in design or workmanship of work performed by Landlord or any affiliate of Landlord; costs or expenses associated with leasing space in the Building, including, without limitation, advertising and marketing, commissions or any amounts paid for or on behalf of any tenant such as space planning, moving costs, rental and other tenant concessions; reserves for repairs, maintenance, and replacements; any amounts paid to any person, firm, or corporation related to or otherwise affiliated with Landlord or any general partner, officer or director of Landlord or any of its general partners to the extent they exceed arms-length competitive prices paid in greater Washington, D.C. area for the services or goods provided; costs of any special service provided to other tenants, or service in excess of that furnished to Tenant to the extent Landlord receives reimbursement from such tenants as an additional charge; costs of repairs incurred by reason of fire or other casualty or condemnation to the extent Landlord receives compensation therefore through the proceeds of insurance or condemnation awards; costs of renovating space vacated by any tenant or any other work which Landlord performs for any specific tenant; interest, penalties or liens arising by reason of Landlord's failure to timely pay any operating expense (including ground rent) or real estate tax due, provided that Tenant has deposited with Landlord the amounts necessary to pay such amounts in accordance with this Lease; costs incurred for maintenance of any retail areas of the Building; compensation paid to clerks, attendants sales persons, or other persons on or in commercial concessions (including the parking garage) operated in the Building costs relating to maintaining Landlord's existence, as a corporation, partnership or other entity, such as trustee's fees, annual fees corporate or partnership organization or administration expenses, deed recordation expenses, and legal and accounting fees (other than with respect to building operations) costs (including fines and penalties imposed) incurred by Landlord to remove any hazardous or toxic wastes, materials or substances from either the Building or Property, unless caused by Tenant or its employees, agents or contractors; the cost of any "tap fees" or one time lump sum, sewer or water connection fees for the Building; political or charitable contributions; general corporate overhead or administrative expenses, except as permitted by subparagraph (viii) above costs resulting from the negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord or its agents, contractors or employees the rent and operating expenses for Landlord's on-site management or leasing office, or any other offices or spaces of Landlord or any entity where Landlord is charging a management fee; increased insurance premiums caused by Landlord's or any other tenant's hazardous acts; rental costs and related expenses for leasing systems or equipment that would be considered a capital improvement or expenditure if purchased, except to the extent such amounts are properly chargeable as a capital expenditure and are amortized in accordance with subparagraph (x) above or costs or selling, syndicating, financing, re-financing; mortgaging or hypothecating any part of or interest in the Building. 10 View More