BATON ROUGE - A popular downtown bike rental business is closing after being evicted from its site.

The owner of Geaux Ride, Charles Daniel, tells me he was evicted from the Third Street unit after refusing to buy a brand-new HVAC for a storefront he was leasing from Commercial Properties Realty Trust, the real estate investment trust for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

"For some reason, they are saying that I need to replace a working HVAC unit, that replacement is $15,000 expense, and I am refusing to pay it," Daniel said.

Daniel says his business has been operating out of a downtown storefront since 2020.

He says over the past two years, he's been going back and forth with his landlord over the HVAC unit in the building.  

A spokesperson for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation claims Daniel's HVAC contractor recommended the HVAC unit in the space be replaced and that Daniel agreed to replace the system by August 30th of last year, as part of his new lease agreement that reduced his rent.

Daniel says his rent was reduced from $1300 to $950.

"I agreed to change it because I didn't have an option; it was either I change the unit or they wouldn't sign my lease, so I said 'Fine, I'll change the unit, I'll come up with the $15,000 from somewhere and make it happen'," he said.

But, Daniel claims, once the HVAC contractors came out to give him an estimate, he says he was told by the contractor that a full replacement was not necessary.

"They sent out a new tech that particular day, he filled out saying it might need to be replaced. The supervisor came out, said it was just a part, we replaced the part, as you can see, the unit is still running today, and they have continued to service it every quarter," Daniel said.

BRAF says in a statement to WBRZ:

"This, in addition to other lease violations such as not providing appropriate insurance and maintenance documentation, not paying rent in a consistent or timely manner, and others, across the span of his entire time as a tenant, ultimately contributed to Geaux Ride's eviction. "

"I've also gone to the extent of saying, hey, how can we better navigate this rent payment system if you don't allow electronic payment. I've given them four months at a time up front; they've actually had the rent and decided not to deposit the check," Daniel said.

Daniel also addressed the insurance claims.

"My commercial real estate agent actually noticed that they were asking me to sign away my right that anyone who hurt themselves on the property that I would now become liable for, even though I don't maintain the property. So, she pushed back on it and removed that clause," he said.

He says he may go back to operating his business mobile, but he plans to leave the state sometime next year to continue his business.