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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-Economic Development Plan/Parcel #12 (DRAFT) City of Carmel Hamilton County, Indiana Preliminary Draft for Internal Review Only CRCParcel Economic Development Plan December 14, 2005 Michael R. Shaver, President 3799 Steeplechase Drive Carmel, IN 46032 (voice) 317/872 -9529 (fax) 317/872 -9885 (e -mail) wabsci @aol.com CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan Carmel, Indiana Purpose of the Economic Development Plan This Economic Development Plan is being developed for the sole purpose of underwriting and capturing a specific redevelopment proposal for the parcel of land identified by the Carmel Redevelopment Commission (CRC) as Parcel #12, which was previously located within the City Center Redevelopment Area. The land identified herein as CRC Parcel #12 was originally amended into the City Center Redevelopment Area (RD Area) for the purpose of acquisition and redevelopment by the CRC. Parcel #12 is a parcel aggregated from a number of originally platted and developed parcels located on the west side of Rangeline Road and previously containing a retail liquor store, a gas station, a grocer's bakery and other small retail establishments. The property comprising Parcel #12 was amended into the City Center Redevelopment Area after being excised from the Old Town Economic Development Area. The CRC determined that Parcel #12 was unlikely to be redeveloped at a suitable level of intensity without CRC acquisition, and the need for acquisition/assembly of the parcel to remove multiple owners was a justification for including Parcel #12 in the RD Area. After amending the Parcel #12 area into the City Center Redevelopment Area, the CRC initiated actions to purchase the property and then to re- assemble the smaller parcels into a larger tract which would be attractive for redevelopment purposes. The result of these combined actions by the CRC is now identified as Parcel #12 on the CRC Master Plan. The purpose of this Economic Development Plan (ED Plan), therefore, is to remove Parcel #12 from the City Center Redevelopment Area in order to create a stand -alone CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area (specifically limited to Parcel #12) which allows the CRC to offer a prospective developer the opportunity to capture tax increment financing (TIF) resulting from the specific redevelopment of Parcel #12, alone. This TIF is to be used to accomplish projects identified in the Economic Development Project List which is a part of this ED Plan. It has been the determination of the CRC that the elevated, high quality type of redevelopment preferred for Parcel #12 is not possible without the commitment of TIF revenues from the redevelopment of Parcel #12 to this redevelopment project. Description of the Proposed Economic Development Area The proposed CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area (Parcel #12 ED Area) is generally located at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of 1 Street SW and Rangeline Road. The CRC is preparing a formal legal description of Parcel #12, which will be included in the Declaratory and Confirmatory Resolutions establishing the Parcel #12 ED Area. A list of the original parcel identification numbers which have been assembled to comprise Parcel #12 is presented below: 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 005.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 006.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 007.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 008.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 009.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 010.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 015.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 016.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 017.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 018.000 16- 09- 25- 16 -03- 019.000 CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 2 t Parcel #12 Preliminary Redevelopment Proposal The CRC has received and has tentatively endorsed a preliminary redevelopment proposal from Pedcor for Parcel #12. The preliminary Pedcor Parcel #12 redevelopment proposal includes a mixed -use retail development with some offices (final proportions will be determined by market demand) specifically targeted for support of the Arts District redevelopment `motif which has been designated in the Old Downtown of Carmel. This preliminary redevelopment proposal indicates that the redeveloped parcels will be developed with far greater intensity than the original developments on the assembled parcels. The redevelopment proposal has been refined to propose development of a 2 -story building totaling approximately 93,500 sf on a 45,000 sf footprint, with 64 surface parking spaces and 112 space provided underground. The estimated development cost is approximately $8M. The CRC is prepared to support the development of parking facilities and appurtenances necessary to support a more intense urban development at this location. Economic Development Plan to Become a Part of the Integrated ED Plan It is the intent of the CRC that this "CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan," and designated "CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area," will become a part of the Carmel Integrated Economic Development Plan, as amended. The CRC previously created a series of Economic Development Areas, as well as one redevelopment area (City Center), and developed an integrated series of plans and strategies for the purpose of generating wholesale economic development and redevelopment of these areas, both individually and collectively. The CRC has developed (and amended over time to reflect progress on identified projects) an Integrated Economic Development Redevelopment Plan itemizing the individual strategies and projects from all of these TIF -based areas, as well as integrating all projects from all ED RD Areas into a single, functioning whole, with the central goal of enabling the City of Carmel to utilize TIF revenues from all ED RD Areas to benefit the City Center redevelopment initiatives. It is the intent of the CRC that the "CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area" will become a part of the integrated Economic Development and Redevelopment Areas, with all projects and strategies integrated and coordinated with one another. As such, any excess TIF revenue generated by the Parcel #12 ED Area is extended the same CRC policy provisions as the other ED RD Areas, in that TIF revenues generated within the Parcel #12 ED Area can be used to benefit the City Center Redevelopment Area, and such use of the TIF Revenue will directly serve and benefit the Parcel #12 ED Area. Area Previously Designated for TIF Incentives The public should know and understand that the Economic Development Area proposed herein for designation does not include any parcels that are not already designated as part of an economic development area or redevelopment area. The entirety of the Parcel #12 Economic Development Area was previously designated as part of the original Old Town Economic Development Area, and later amended into the City Center Redevelopment Area for purposes of land acquisition and parcel assembly to facilitate redevelopment. CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 3 The creation of the Parcel #12 ED Area enables the CRC to allow the developer of Parcel #12 to capture TIF from that development to support projects identified later in this ED Plan. Intent of this Economic Development Area Designation By designating a separate Economic Development Area, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission (CRC) can specifically designate that TIF revenues resulting from the proposed development can be captured by the CRC and dedicated to the specific developer of Parcel #12 (Pedcor) as a development incentive to support the construction of surface and sub surface parking, as well as other infrastructure for the ED Area. Incorporation of Previous Findings This Economic Development Plan incorporates any and all previous findings of fact and findings of blight related to previous designations of Economic Development Areas and /or Redevelopment Areas for the purpose of capturing TIF revenues. As such, in addition to the specific findings of fact offered below, this Economic Development Plan also officially incorporates previous findings of fact related to the designation of other Economic Development Areas covering the original parcels, as well as the findings of blight that were previously approved as part of the City Center Redevelopment Plan. The incorporation of previous findings is undertaken with the direct intent of enabling the CRC to supplement the specific findings offered in this Economic Development Plan, in the event of legal or public disputes. Any citizen seeking full documentation of all findings related to this designation should consult this Economic Development Plan as well as the other Economic Development Plans and Redevelopment Plans, as amended and promulgated by the CRC, and the Integrated Economic Development Redevelopment Plan, as amended. Parcel #12 Findings of Fact Indiana statute IC 36 -7 -14 provides for the formation of an Economic Development Area in accordance with the following criteria: 1. The plan for the Economic Development Area: promotes significant opportunities for the gainful employment of its citizens; attracts major new business enterprise to the unit (of government); retains or expands a significant business enterprise existing in the unit, or; meets other purposes of redevelopment and economic development. 2. The plan for the Economic Development Area cannot be achieved by regulatory processes, or by the ordinary operation of private enterprise because of: lack of public improvements, existence of improvements or conditions that lower the value of land below that of nearby land; multiple ownership of land; or other similar conditions. 3. The public health and welfare will be benefited by the plan for the economic development of the area. CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 4 4. The accomplishment of the plan for the Economic Development Area will be a public utility and benefit as measured by: the attraction or retention of permanent jobs; an increase in the property tax base, or; improve the diversity and economic base or other similar benefits. 5. The plan for the Economic Development area conforms to other Development and Redevelopment Plans of the unit. Finding of Fact #1: "...the plan promotes significant opportunities for the gainful employment of its citizens; attract major new business enterprise; ...retains or expands a significant business enterprise existing in the unit...." Designation of the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area is undertaken for the specific purpose of promoting a development proposal from Pedcor for Parcel #12. Pedcor's redevelopment proposal for Parcel #12 involves creation of a mixed use retail/ office development which is targeted to support Carmel's downtown Arts District. The specific target market for this development is the attraction of upscale design and home furnishings companies to complement the Arts District redevelopment motif It is estimated that approximately 50 new jobs will be created in this ED Area. Pedcor has ongoing business activity in the Carmel City Center area and has been a major proponent of the overall City Center redevelopment effort. As such, Pedcor already provides employment opportunities to the citizens of Carmel, as well as the Indianapolis metropolitan area, and has expressed an intent to expand its business enterprises in the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area. In addition, it is Pedcor's stated intent to develop Parcel #12 for the purpose of attracting new business enterprise to the newly designated Economic Development Area. The intent to develop commercial business space that will be offered to the business marketplace for the purpose of housing new, existing, and relocated arts /design- related businesses in the CRC Parcel #12 ED Area will generate new opportunities for gainful employment of Carmel and metropolitan area citizens. The CRC is responding directly to a development proposal by Pedcor with the full expectation that new employment opportunities will be captured in this ED Area, and as such, it is determined that the proposed Economic Development Area meets this statutory finding of fact. Finding of Fact #2: "the plan... cannot be achieved by regulatory processes or by the ordinary operation of private enterprise because of lack of public improvements... or other similar conditions." The designation of the Parcel #12 ED Area responds to a series of conditions that relate to the development/redevelopment of urban parcels. The development proposal which has been received from Pedcor cannot be achieved through regulatory processes, nor through the normal operation of private enterprise. The Parcel #12 ED Area has been designated for economic development and urban redevelopment for an extended period of time. The Parcel #12 ED Area was originally designated as part of an economic development area, with a full complement of statutory findings of fact, as presented in the Old Town Economic Development Plan. Those original findings of fact are hereby incorporated into this economic development plan by reference. CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 5 Furthermore, the City Center Redevelopment Area was designated with a full complement of findings of blight, indicating that the area was suffering from urban deterioration and other blighting influences. The parcels being designated for the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area were also previously amended into the City Center Redevelopment Area as part of an area of suffering from urban blight, with a full complement of findings of blight, also in accordance with statute. These findings of blight are also hereby incorporated into this economic development plan by reference. This action to re- designate the parcels now comprising Parcel #12 as a separate Economic Development Area is being undertaken in full recognition of these previous designations. The additional findings of fact necessary to meet the statutory requirements for designation of the Parcel #12 Economic Development Area are intended to supplement, rather than replace, the previous findings of fact and findings of blight, which were originally a part of the redevelopment area designation. More specifically, the Parcel #12 area could not be developed at an appropriate level of intensity or with appropriate design configurations without the designation as an economic development area. Prior to designation, this ED Area was comprised of a number of fragmented parcels which were incapable of separately supporting development or redevelopment at the level of urban intensity sought by the CRC for the Downtown area (including the need for subsurface parking). By acquiring these fragmented parcels and assembling them into a single parcel (identified as Parcel #12), the CRC was able to encourage redevelopment proposals that were appropriate to the CRC's strategic goals. None of these activities could have been accomplished through the normal course of private enterprise, nor by accepted regulatory processes. The Carmel Redevelopment Commission has undertaken an extended series of planning, design, and construction projects to create a dynamic environment for economic development and redevelopment. The City Center Redevelopment Plan clearly stated an extensive intent on the part of the City of Carmel to develop a broad range of public improvements, possibly including a performing arts center, an art museum, various new streets /roads, various improvements to existing streets /roads, expansion/enhancement of public parking facilities, and other forms of public improvements. In addition, the CRC has sponsored an extensive redevelopment of street and drainage infrastructure in order to reinforce the historic design parameters of the Old Town Area. Once these infrastructure projects were completed, the CRC went further in designating the Old Town Area as an Arts District, with the intent of capturing a broad range of arts related small businesses in the urban core. The Pedcor development proposal supports and amplifies these previous efforts on the part of the CRC in a manner that could not have been achieved through the normal operation of private enterprise or the normal regulatory processes available to municipalities. Similarly, the developer has affirmed that neither regulatory processes nor the ordinary operation of private enterprise can generate the type of projects which are being proposed in this case. In all cases, the property designated for the CRC Parcel #12 Economic CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 6 Development Area cannot be developed or redeveloped to its highest potential without the intervention of the economic incentives which accompany the designation of this ED Area. The entirety of the CRC strategy depends upon making major public improvements in order to enable the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area to increase its developmental intensity so as to serve a city with over 50,000 population, and a metropolitan area of nearly 200,000 population. Clearly, the existing public improvements serving this area, including infrastructure and parking, were designed to serve a small town. Therefore, if developmental intensity is to be increased to serve a community of 50,000- 100,000 population or more, there will be a need for major public improvements which are unlikely to be realized through simple regulatory enforcement or operation of private enterprise. The sum of these arguments leads to only one possible conclusion that the CRC can only achieve its development and redevelopment goals through the creative application of development partnerships. In creating those partnerships, economic development and redevelopment incentives can be applied to those development proposals which meet the CRC's criteria and vision, but in no case can the simple operation of private enterprise or the simple application of regulatory processes lead to a successful outcome. As such, the proposed CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area is determined to meet this statutory finding of fact. Finding of Fact #3: "the public health and welfare will be benefited..." The proposal to create the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area will benefit the public health and welfare in several ways, as follows: 1. The public welfare will be benefited by providing new jobs and significant opportunities for employment of the citizens of Carmel, as a result of the proposed developments. 2. The public welfare will be benefited by introducing new opportunities for arts, entertainment and cultural enhancement in and near the Economic Development Area. 3. The public welfare will be benefited through the attraction of arts related businesses into the designated Arts District which will increase the economic viability of the Arts District and encourage individual artistic expression throughout the community. 4. The public welfare will be benefited by creation of new assessed value within the Economic Development Area. 5. The public health will be benefited by improvements to safety features and local transportation and infrastructure which are designed to reduce the incidence of traffic accidents, including pedestrians struck by vehicles, as well as vehicular accidents. 6. The public health will be benefited by infrastructure improvements which reduce traffic congestion and thus improve local air quality. 7. The public health will be benefited by introducing and enhancing artistic opportunities to citizens of the community. 8. The public health will be benefited by providing enclosed and other parking which provides customers with safe access to businesses in the ED Area. It has been the CRC's strategy since the beginning to enhance the quality of life in Carmel by improving the downtown and City Center area to offer more arts, recreational, and cultural opportunities to citizens of Carmel and the metropolitan area. Effectively, CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 7 "quality of life" and "public health and welfare" are synonymous terms. Therefore, the CRC hereby asserts that this statutory finding is satisfied. Finding of Fact #4: accomplishment of the plan will be of public utility... as measured by: the attraction or retention a permanent jobs; an increase in the property tax base... or other similar benefits." The CRC hereby asserts that the accomplishment of this Economic Development Plan, including its goals, objectives, strategies, and projects, will be of public utility, as defined in the statute. The development proposal offered by Pedcor proposes to increase the number of permanent jobs in the downtown area (approximately 50), as well as supporting the retention of existing jobs which are already located in the Arts District. In addition, it is clear that the proposed development will also increase the property tax base, as well as diversify the economic base of the City of Carmel. These proposed developments will help the city to attract and retain a broad range of new businesses, including small, start-up businesses, as well as arts related businesses. Many of these businesses could not be attracted or retained, or otherwise would not be permitted to grow, without developments such as the ones proposed by Pedcor. While Carmel has a number of areas where major new office /retail development is occurring, the number of these types of facilities in the downtown area is extremely limited. The CRC is seeking to capture new arts related business development in the downtown area, including Old Town, City Center, and the Arts District, in order to diversify the city's economic base, increase its property tax base, and provide a stable and growing opportunity for employment in the area. Therefore, it is determined that this Economic Development Plan satisfies this statutory finding of fact. Finding of Fact #5: "the plan for the Economic Development Area conforms to other development and redevelopment plans of the unit." The CRC hereby asserts that the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan conforms in every respect to the other economic development and redevelopment plans for the area. As stated previously, the area to be designated as the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area was previously designated as part of the Old Town Economic Development Area, as well as the City Center Redevelopment Area, as well as being included in the Integrated Economic Development Plan. Despite the change in designation sought herein, all previous planning documents prepared by the CRC were reviewed in full by the City, as well as the Plan Commission, and were previously found in all cases to conform to the overall plan of development for the area. This Economic Development Plan alters none of the previous findings in this regard. The City and the Plan Commission have worked cooperatively since the inception of economic development and redevelopment efforts by the CRC. This Economic Development Plan cannot reasonably be interpreted in any manner that does not conform to the overall plan of development and redevelopment for the City of Carmel, and as such, is expected that this statutory finding of fact is satisfied. CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 8 Economic Development Strategy The CRC seeks to designate the CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Area for the purpose of promoting the specific, private sector project which has been preliminarily presented to the CRC for consideration. The CRC's strategy for designating this Economic Development Area is primarily directed at the formation of partnerships with developers possessing the professional capability to successfully implement development projects which are compatible with the CRC's vision of the City Center area, and which promote, support, and extend the capacity of the Old Town commercial area to support arts- related businesses. Pedcor has a successful track record in assisting the City and the CRC with successful development /redevelopment implementation. As a result, the CRC is comfortable in developing this additional partnership in support of the proposed project. The CRC believes that implementation of this project will result in further redevelopment of the Arts District at an appropriate level of intensity, and with high quality development standards. As stated previously, this Economic Development Area is being designated explicitly for the purpose of supporting the project proposed by Pedcor, and therefore the strategy for this Economic Development Area relies heavily upon the representations made by Pedcor in approaching the CRC. Economic Development Projects The CRC's partnership with Pedcor in creating the Parcel #12 ED Area includes the use of TIF funds for the following projects in conjunction with the Pedcor proposal. Cost item Estimated cost Parking Structures (subsurface) 2,500,000 Surface parking 1,000,000 Ingress /Egress provisions 500,000 (including handicapped access, ramps, elevators, vehicle access, etc.) Other infrastructure support 500,000 Preliminary Subtotal of Estimated Costs 4,500,000 In addition to the economic development projects presented above, the CRC acknowledges that potential excess TIF revenues can be used to support other redevelopment projects in the City Center Redevelopment Area, and that such use of the excess TIF revenues will directly serve and benefit the Parcel #12 ED Area. /crc parcel 12 ed plan CRC Parcel #12 Economic Development Plan 9