Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRC-09-20-05CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 1 CARMEL REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Meeting, Tuesday, September 20, 2005 President Ron Carter called the meeting to order at 7:27 p.m. Commission members Bob Battreall, Bill Hammer and Jerry Heniser were present, constituting a quorum. Also present were Mayor Brainard, Bruce Donaldson, Loren Matthes, Dan Moriarity, Lesley Rogers Barrett, Christopher Reed, Brian Cranor, Kelli Lawrence, Jimmy Curtis, Jr., David Stirsman, Karl S. Meyer, Leo Stenz, Tim Campbell, Evan Lurie, Steve Brown, Bruce Cordingley, Steve Sturtz, Jennifer Galyen, Jim Thomas, Tim Ochs, Jim Martin and Terry Prather. Phyllis Morrissey as support staff. Approval of Minutes Mr. Battreall moved for approval of the August 16, 2005, minutes. Following a second by Mr. Hammer, the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Battreall moved for approval of the September 6, 2005, minutes. Following a second by Mr. Heniser, the motion was approved with three in favor. Mr. Hammer abstained. Fire Buffs Report on Station #1 Remodel Mr. Olds stated that the Fire Buffs requested financial assistance from the CRC for the refurbishing of Station #1 so it could be made available to the public. The CRC authorized Cripe Engineering to conduct a study and their report gave several options, including handicapped restrooms in the building. The estimated costs to do the project, including A/E fees, is approximately $40,000. Mr. Olds introduced Jim Martin, who gave a brief history of the Fire Buffs and their first acquisition, a 1953 fire truck in 1989. The first station was being used for storage at the time and Mayor [Dottie] Hancock gave them permission to use it for a fire buffs club. They have several pieces of older fire equipment displayed now and use them in parades. No regular hours are kept at this time but the goal is to have the building open for tours on a consistent basis, probably Friday, Saturday and Sunday for now. The Fire Buffs maintain the building and pay for utilities. Terry Prather, Treasurer of the Fire Buffs, expanded on the plans of the Fire Buffs. The club is primarily a museum for education of children of all ages. Adequate parking is available on site or nearby. Mr. Carter stated he felt the Fire Buffs museum should be an integral part of the overall family attractions in Old Town, along with the Historical Society, the Children’s Art Museum and the Museum of Miniature Houses. Mr. Martin and Mr. Prather were assured by Mr. Olds that there were no plans to tear down the station. Street improvements and parking in the area would be done “down the road”. CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 2 Mayor Brainard noted the City’s maintenance garage just behind the fire station would probably be removed. The water department’s small facility to the north of the fire station will probably also be razed. The City is also looking at a Survive Alive house with a meeting room for various organizations in the general area. There is a possible relocation of the 911 Center directly adjacent to the tower. Following further discussion, Mr. Battreall moved the CRC authorize the expenditure of $40,000 for renovation work on Fire Station #1. Following a second by Mr. Hammer, the motion was unanimously approved. Report from Tim Ochs on Parcel #10 Mr. Ochs gave an update on the progress of selling the rest of Parcel #10. There is a contract currently in existence and it includes construction plans to build the building already approved by the CRC. The due diligence period has been extended to October 19 via a substantial non-refundable deposit. Mr. Shapiro has offered his restaurant’s liquor license to enhance the property. The due diligence period can be extended for one more final 30 day period [to November 18] by another larger non-refundable deposit. Mr. Carter gave Mr. Ochs his business card and asked Mr. Ochs or Mr. Shapiro or Mr. McComas to call him from now on rather than just talking with one individual of the commission and/or the Mayor. He also clarified the parking ownership behind Flagstar because of complaints of City employees using it. Mr. Olds noted that parking area will soon be freed up once Parcel #35 is completed. Mr. Carter stated Cinergy will begin work in that area soon and also that the Monon Trail will be moved temporarily. Presentations from Bidders Mr. Carter addressed all those present by apologizing for the late start of the public meeting, noting the Executive Sessions will begin at 6 p.m. from now on, rather than 6:30 with the public meeting then starting at 7 p.m. He also stated and asked everyone present to “bear this in mind”: in response to some questions, the Redevelopment Commission, by law, can focus on experience of those people who are bidding on the projects; they can focus on the feasibility of the projects as to whether or not they fulfill what the goals are for the Redevelopment Commission overall but for a particular project that the CRC is working on. “I just want to make sure that everybody understands that as these progress through the bidding process. If anybody doesn’t understand that, I’d appreciate it if they’d sit down and talk with me about it.” Mr. Carter: Regarding the presentations, no decisions will be made this evening on awarding of bids for either project. They will be taken under advisement. Those presenting tonight were invited so they could talk about the intangibles, where they see these projects fitting in and what their vision is overall for the area. CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 3 Parcel #12 Hearthview Jim Thomas, from Hearthview Residential, presented their proposal, a flexible project with 95,000 square feet, in three separate buildings. There will be ground floor retail in the two buildings facing Range Line Road and all other floors are condos with elevators available in all buildings. The multi-story building behind Range Line is all condos. All retail and condos are for sale. There are 140 parking spaces. He noted their experience with Old Town projects and their long history with the CRC. The commercial concept is designed to accommodate either design related uses or arts related uses or a mixture of the two. Mr. Thomas said in his observation of other cities, the design center areas tend to be more strongly commercial in nature, operating on a more 9 to 5 basis, less synergistic with respect to location to surrounding residential. “By contrast, we observed that many of the arts related districts in the other cities his company works in, they have a more integrated combination of housing, restaurants, supportive retail. People’s visits there are more episodic, more re-occurring. This is why we crafted a financial structure that pre-contemplated the possibility, but not the requirement, that this be arts related.” We believe that our proposal offers an outstanding project at a far better financial package to the CRC. On the upfront basis alone, there is a significant savings that has been detailed to you. One hundred percent of our tax proceeds stay with the City per the TIF. Also important to note is that most of the CRC’s investment is dedicated to providing the retail spaces the opportunity to exist at prices that core arts users can afford. Our proposal dictates that to the extent that we sell those arts related uses for a higher price by going with design related uses, 100% of that money comes to the CRC. In response to questions: The parking lot beside 1st Avenue SW has no landscaping along the side at this time. It is arranged to provide the opportunity of streetscape at a future date. They anticipate a May 1, 2006, start and fall 2007 total occupancy. A model sales center can be in place on Main Street by the end of the year. The starting price is approximately $93,000 for the smallest unit and $325,000 at the high end. All will have high end finishes. A good price would be $13.50-$15 square foot for artists. Higher prices will be for more commercial, such as design related businesses. Mr. Thomas does not think a design district needs to be in an area of this size. Mayor Brainard pointed out there would be no TIF under current law unless the State legislature were to change it. The only possibility would be if someone bought four connected units and then leased them. Pedcor Bruce Cordingley, from Pedcor, explained his proposal which consists of 85,000 square feet for office or retail (no residential) on two floors with increased floor to ceiling height. On the first floor it is in the 15-16 foot range and higher on the second floor. The proposal includes 120 underground parking spaces and 67 on the surface. CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 4 Their proposal is called the Indiana Design Center since this is the only design center like it in the state. Mr. Pedcor recommended, given the size and location, proximity to Old town, that this be a design space. He said he has talked with possible tenants and a number have expressed an interest in it. They have asked about being co-investors or buying their space. Mr. Sturtz pointed out details of their design, noting all sides are “finished”. On street parking is adjacent to all sides. The only above ground parking lot is mostly screened by the buildings. Retail areas have a storefront presence, but also an inner-connectivity within the building. The building facing Range Line Road has a bridged gateway to the interior parking. They could break ground in spring, 2006, with summer or fall, 2007, completion. They will start even without any leases signed. Lease prices would be in the $12-17 range, depending on the location of the space. Discussion is whether to have one space dedicated to a common space for meetings or display. This might be the bridge area, which is 3500 square feet. Break from 9-9:10 p.m. Parcel #16 Carmel Arts Partners Karl Meyer, from Carmel Arts Partners [Meyer-Najem], presented their proposal for Parcel #16. He also distributed some information about their company. The proposal consists of four units, all masonry, with unit one on the alley corner. Unit three contains the restrooms that service the area for the public, as well as an elevator that services the building. Unit four is for the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Two of the units are smaller which might make them harder to lease. Mr. Meyer said their proposal is based on purchasing units one and two since a large part of unit three was core area and public space and the first floor was already potentially committed for lease and unit four was sold. He said their general view was reducing the risk to the CRC. He noted they were flexible, however. They propose to start in early December and have occupancy for HCCVB by July. Mayor Brainard then asked David Stirsman [with Meyer-Najem) to step before the Commission. Mayor Brainard expressed his displeasure over the apparent threats made by Mr. Stirsman to two members of the Commission. Mayor Brainard stated he appointed three out of five people to this commission and they served at his pleasure. Two of those people have said they felt like they were almost threatened by Mr. Stirsman. “I have some concerns about that. These things are meant to be public/private partnerships and it was suggested apparently to two individuals separately that if you didn’t get this bid, there probably should be an investigation. I want to talk about that, why you feel that way, on the record, in front of the press. I also want CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 5 to give our attorney, Mr. Haas, an opportunity to explain how a redevelopment commission works. I don’t really appreciate this sort of implied suggestion from anyone.” Mr. Stirsman denied that he intimated to anyone that this was unfair and also that he did not suggest there should be an investigation. Further discussion followed during which Mayor Brainard asked Mr. Haas to explain the criteria. Mr. Haas: Mr. Carter touched on this before he asked for the bidders to begin their presentations. Unlike some other bid situations in which the bodies are obligated to take either the lowest or highest bid, the Redevelopment Commission, though appropriate and necessary for us to take into consideration for these kinds of projects, the purchase price that’s been proposed, we can give weight to, in fact, give more weight to other characteristics and aspects of the bid besides simply the price proposed and the cost of what the Redevelopment Commission would have to provide. Those would include the general business reputation of the bidder, the experience that the community and the Commission had had with the bidder in terms of completing projects that are similar to the ones being bid. The financial resources that are available to the bidder to help assure the project would be completed in accordance with the requirements and on time. And finally, any other factors that we might determine would be important in carrying out and serving the interests of the City and its residents. So, though we have to give weight to the economics, the economics would not necessarily control and, in fact, we could give controlling weight to those other factors. Mr. Stirsman did acknowledge that he is a direct person and may be misperceived. He apologized if anyone got the impression that the members had motives other than serving as volunteers in their capacity as a board member. He also stated that he wished Mayor Brainard had brought this up with him personally. Mayor Brainard stated he wanted to have this conversation in public. Following further discussion, Mr. Meyer then asked if there were any questions on the presentation. Mr. Olds: You indicated you wished to purchase units one and two, which is the 3,000 sf unit and the 4,500 sf unit. That makes it difficult because we are in the process of taking applications for the units and we have a number of applications for those two buildings, the live/work units. If you did not purchase those units, would that change the deal, drastically affect your…? Mr. Meyer: No, we would just make sure the revenue side matched. CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 6 Further discussion followed on possible sale of the different units. Mr. Meyer said the revenue side may change. “Actually the cost may go down a bit because if you remove some risk from our side, we would certainly work with you on the fee side.” Mr. Olds: Could you flip the two, so the larger one is on the end? We’ve priced the end units higher because of the windows. Mr. Meyer: The only problem I could see is if you took the real small unit and stuck it in the middle, it might be hard to market that. But you could flip these any way you want before we start. Mr. Carter: How would marketing be accomplished with this? Mr. Meyer: We would work with the CRC because of the letters of intent. We also have Terry Eaton, part of our group with the retail side. We have some money in for a broker should it be needed. The different components of the units were discussed. Mr. Olds noted the requirement that the first floor be leased to an arts related business. Ten galleries are the minimum needed to generate the interest for events and functions. Mr. Meyer and Mr. Stirsman pointed out other projects they have been involved in, including Riverview Medical Plaza on Hazel Dell Parkway and the Doulin Building on Massachusetts Avenue. Mr. Meyer and Mr. Stirsman were thanked for their presentation. Pedcor Mr. Cordingley and Mr. Sturtz displayed their proposal for Parcel 16, but before going into detail, Mr. Cordingley explained briefly the difference between cost-plus pricing and fixed price contract. The difference in the windows selected will make a substantial difference in the end price. Mr. Cordingley pointed out some of the efficiencies if Pedcor is the successful bidder. One is the fact they are already there. “If another group is selected, both construction companies will have to work very hard on that small site to see where they can assemble. Coupled with the fact we really need to have the parking area available on the south end of Parcel 16 available pretty much when we open up Parcel 13. We need the spaces there.” In the marketing of the units Pedcor agreed to buy unit three and lease it back to the CRC. Pedcor has been working with Mr. Olds on the marketing of the various units. Time schedule is roughly the same as Meyer-Najem’s proposal. CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 7 Mr. Sturtz said they felt something interesting needed to be done to the corner unit. He pointed out the entrance to the Visitors’ Bureau unit. Discussion followed about the parking lot and staging for the construction sites. Workers will have to use the Lions Club parking lot. Mr. Olds said the cost increases for Parcel 13 have been pro-rated on to the prospective purchasers, raising the base cost per unit to $545,000. Mr. Cordingley and Mr. Sturtz were thanked for their presentation. Parcel #20 Mr. Lurie and Mr. Campbell presented his revised design proposal for Parcel #20. Mr. Campbell introduced Leo Stenz, a contractor/developer in the area. Mr. Lurie explained the changes. The proposal includes three split level condos with outside balconies. The idea was to make the interior look like an old building which has been renovated. There is a ten-foot walkway along the east side, partially covered. Mr. Carter asked if the building was going to dwarf others in the block. Discussion followed about the dimensions of the building, those beside it and others in the area. General consensus of the CRC was that it was a great design. Still needed are the project agreement and the economic terms. Report from Architects/Engineers Mr. Moriarity questioned whether CSO Schenkel Schultz should continue to be involved in the projects being brought to the CRC. Discussion followed. Mr. Carter recommended pre-bid meetings be held so everyone is “on the same page”. The underground detention area will soon be ready for the final coat and then installation of lighting. They will seed and mulch all the disturbed areas. Preparing for Cinergy to start work on September 26. Working with DLZ to integrate street package. Mr. Olds asked for CRC’s authorization of the expenditure of $250,000.00 for utility relocation on Parcel 16. So moved by Mr. Hammer. Following a second by Mr. Battreall, the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Haas asked for approval of Resolution 11-2005, Granting Easements Pursuant to PSI for Relocation of Power Lines in City Center Area. So moved by Mr. Hammer. Following a second by Mr. Battreall, the motion was unanimously approved. CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 8 Update on Properties Regarding adding the stairs back by the tunnel by Rotary Plaza, Option 2 was selected as the direction to go in finalizing the design. Cost of the stairway is $30,000-35,000. Mr. Olds recommended the fountain at Rotary Plaza be replaced with a commercial design. Mr. Carter pointed out that the City Council has already passed an ordinance forbidding skateboarding on the City property. Signs have been ordered and will be installed. Financial Matters Cash flow spreadsheet: Mr. Olds said we are anticipating we will get an order from the court to pay the final money into the court for BP Amoco. Land sale for Parcels 4 and 11 is anticipated for October. Invoices in the amount of $776,411.06 were submitted for payment. Discussion followed about the progress of work on Parcel 5. Mr. Battreall moved for approval of the invoices as submitted. Following a second by Mr. Hammer, the motion was unanimously approved. 2005 BAN Offering Mr. Donaldson stated there were two separate resolutions: the first one is a general resolution that affects basically all the TIF supported funds which would be all these BANS and the Performing Arts Center bond. This resolution captures the Midwest ISO TIF. The public hearing for Resolution 9-2005 was opened at 11:04 p.m. There was no one present to speak in opposition or in favor of the resolution. The public hearing was closed at 11:06 p.m. Mr. Hammer moved the CRC approve Resolution 9-2005, Amending the Declaratory Resolution for the Integrated 126th Street Corridor Economic Development Area. Following a second by Mr. Battreall, the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Donaldson said Resolution 10-2005 is the bond resolution authorizing the bond notes for $2,995,000.00, Series 2005 A. Ms. Matthes reported that three bids were solicited and J.P. Morgan bid 4.43%. These are taxable two year notes. Closing will be September 21, 2005. The public hearing for Resolution 10-2005 was opened at 11:09 p.m. There was no one present to speak in opposition or in favor of the resolution. The public hearing was closed at 11:10 p.m. Mr. Hammer moved the CRC approve Resolution 10-2005, Authorizing the Issuance of Bonds for the Purpose of Providing Funds to be Applied to Pay for Redevelopment Projects and Incidental Expenses in Connection Therewith and on Account of the CRC Minutes, September 20, 2005 9 Issuance of the Bonds. Following a second by Mr. Battreall, the motion was unanimously approved. To get signatures on the closing certificates, Mr. Hammer moved and Mr. Battreall seconded that Jerry Heniser be appointed as acting secretary. Motion approved unanimously. Old Business Mayor Brainard reminded those present about the Arts Breakfast on Friday, September 23. Approved Old Town grants are being sent out with the parking requirement included. Recipients are to acknowledge acceptance by signing and returning. New Business Mayor Brainard announced Centex is looking at Woods Wire property. He described some of the possibilities. Mr. Olds will have the Performing Arts Center sign updated. Demolition bids will be requested for the Payless Liquors property and the Harrill property buildings. Next Meeting will be Tuesday, October 4, 7:30 a.m. executive session and 8:00 a.m. regular meeting. Next regularly scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, October 18, 6:00 p.m. executive session, 7 p.m. regular meeting. NOTE earlier start of executive session. Adjournment Mr. Hammer moved the meeting be adjourned. Following a second by Mr. Battreall, the motion was unanimously approved and the meeting adjourned at 11:22 p.m.