Columbia officials resumed negotiations on Monday with the owner of Floridita Restaurant and Tapas Bar regarding the business' relocation to an area outside of the University's Manhattanville expansion zone.

The reopening of negotiations marks the end of nearly a year of tumultuous back-and-forth between owner Ramon Diaz and Columbia real estate officials. A dispute over thousands of dollars in rent, real estate tax, and water charges which the University alleged Diaz owed had culminated with the suspension of negotiations last April.

Floridita, which spans three storefronts along Broadway between 125th and 129th Streets, is located in the heart of the expansion zone in which Columbia plans to build its new campus.

According to Diaz, Columbia officials acknowledged that Diaz had been billed incorrectly for thousands of dollars in water charges at the Monday meeting. Diaz had disputed the charges on the grounds that the water meter in his building was providing inconsistent measurements.

"We don't comment on ongoing negotiations," University spokesperson Victoria Benitez said in response to an inquiry.

Last spring, the University insisted that Diaz owed tens of thousands of dollars in overdue rent. In response, Diaz sent Phil Silverman, Columbia's vice president of real estate, copies of cancelled checks for each rent and real estate tax payment he had made since he assumed ownership of Floridita in 2006. At the time, Silverman and University spokesperson La-Verna Fountain stated that all the checks Diaz provided had been accounted for, and that the balance Diaz reportedly owed still stood. At that point, Diaz reported, the University cut off negotiations.

At Monday's meeting, the officials "didn't admit the water meters were defective, but they did acquiesce to the discount that I thought was appropriate based on what I thought the meters were misreading," Diaz said. "We negotiated the open amount to a figure that they were comfortable with and I was comfortable with, and the water is now current."

The University had said Diaz owed approximately $32,000 in water charges. After Monday's discussion, the final amount was set at $20,000, which Diaz said he already paid.

"We needed to get those issues off the table, and therefore they made concessions to get them off the table," Diaz said.

Columbia owns the buildings in which Floridita is located. Diaz's lease on the main restaurant and bakery is good until 2015, while the tapas bar lease must be renewed yearly.

The future of the tapas bar was a major point of conflict between Diaz and University officials. Diaz went so far as to prepare a lawsuit with his attorney to prevent Columbia from terminating the lease on the tapas bar.

But after Monday's meeting, Diaz said, a new lease has been signed and "the lawsuit—even the potential for the lawsuit—is off the table."

If everything goes according to plan, Floridita will be relocated to another location within the expansion zone, to be mutually agreed upon by Diaz and Columbia real estate officials. At the meeting, Diaz reported, Phil Silverman said no space was currently available. In all likelihood, Diaz will eventually move to a building that has yet to be constructed.

In the meantime, he will remain in his current location, and Diaz said Silverman promised to work to resolve the problem of reduced business that Diaz says the construction outside Floridita had caused.

"They have agreed to begin negotiations to start working with me insofar as how the construction is affecting my business," Diaz said. "He [Silverman] did mention that if the construction … starts hurting you, we will help you in any way, shape, or form we can to offset losses and business being affected in a negative way."

Diaz's had recently complained to Columbia and to city officials about the setup of construction barriers and the closing of a lane on Broadway, which resulted in eight traffic accidents outside the restaurant in a month. In response to Diaz's reports, the barriers were taken down and new traffic signals installed. He said that there had been no more accidents since those modifications were made.

maggie.astor@columbiaspectator.com