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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-07-18 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes � Business and Economic Development Committee . � July 18, 2007 Minutes � Councilors: Farrington, Greene, Hawes, Gratwick StafF: Barrett, McKay, ' Others: Campbell, McLellan, Bangor Museum and Center Board Members CONSENT AGENDA � A motion was made and seconded to.approve the Consent Agenda items. � 1. Bass Park— American Folk Festivai Parking Lease 2. Extension of Lease Agreement with Vicki L. Trundy, LCSW, 39 Florida ' Avenue, Office J� NEW BUSINESS � 3. Presentation of]ohn Sites WaterFront Residential Condominium Project In Februa 2007 McKa stated that the Ci Council desi nated John Sites as � rY � Y tY 9 the tentative developer for the site at the corner of Summer and Railroad � Streets. The deadline was extended by 60 days and Sites has a tentative developer status for the site until the end of 7uly. On �uly 11, Sites submitted a proposal for the City's consideration, which will be presented today. If the � Committee deems it acceptable, McKay would like the item to be on the July 23 Council agenda with a Council Order that would authorize the development agreement up to the end of August under such terms and conditions as the ' Committee would approve. At one of the Committee's two meetings in August, action would be taken to approve the terms and conditions. McKay turned the meeting over to Campbell and McLellan. � Dick Campbell, part of the development team which represents]ohn Sites and Amy McLellan, development broker for Dawson Commercial, presented the � proposal concept by architectural renderings. Campbell indicated that elements ` of the former Union Station have been incorporated into the proposed � development's fa�ade. He spoke about the use of Virginian brick, which is being used on one of the new banks on Broadway. It is lighter than the color red. Campbell and McLellan spoke about the landscaping and sun porches as opposed � to decks. The unit sizes are in the 1,200 square foot range to about 2,200 sq. ft. McLellan spoke about calling the porch areas such as lifestyle sun living space. Responding to Farrington, Campbell said the condos are flat, all one floor units. � except for one unit. There will be 80 parking spaces under a roof with 22 additional parking spaces for 47 units. There will be two levels of parking. There � . , , '. will be a centralized elevator in the condo facility. He spoke about enclosed, lockable storage units. The units will have 8 ft. ceilings with the exception of the � eight penthouse units, which will be 9 f�. Gratwick commended the use of the old and the new for the proposed � project. He asked if the tower has a clock. Campbeil said it wiii read like a clock but it is a window for the units. Gratwick wondered if the front door portico could be more distinguishable in style. Campbell said their thought was � to have a feeling of a railroad station. He agreed it would take additional creative work. McLellan talked about the need to be careful not to shadow the sunlight on the units below. She spoke about a gazebo in the courtyard area ' that would flow with the porch line. � McLellan said the development process is a changing one as they continue to work with the site. She spoke about the supply and demand issues for Bangor real estate wise. She is still honing in on prospective buyers and marketing plans � for the project. She spoke about a completed appraisal and previously provided McKay with a copy. Individuals looking at Maine are seeking for things hard to find, hidden treasures, off the beaten path, and heritage tourism. McLellan said � that heritage tourism is very exciting from a marketing point of view. She spoke about the importance of the railroad history. The proposed project will pick up not only a piece of Bangor's heritage but also Maine's. � McLellan then spoke of the unit interiors. Buyers are looking for privacy, security and community. The units will be offered at a variety of price ranges, � some facing the river and others the courtyard. The appraisal indicated the project is offering a new niche in the market, Campbell said. He feels the project will lend to the past, present and future of the Main Street/watertront area. � Farrington spoke about the timeframe involved. He asked McLellan to � review the checkpoints needed for continuance. Campbell said that staff and the team have been reviewing the agreement. Once accomplished and approved by the Committee and Council, the team has spoken about getting real selling � activity on the street, which comes with marketing. He is looking at early spring � for the first shovel to go into the ground for the project. McLellan said marketing is all about timing. During the second week of August, she plans another site � visit with the team and the lenders. It will be a three-day visit. She plans to have a small-scale model available as well as a virtual tour for the site. She would start marketing most likely on August 15�'. She will have a sales office at � the Dawson Real Estate ofFce. She spoke of a presence at the upcoming Folk Festival. She is looking at 25% to 50% pre-sales. � Greene asked the makeup of the team. He also indicated that he thought from previous discussions that the project was not dependent upon pre-sales. � � � ' Campbell said they tried to create a team with a developer and a lender. The � developer is in place and the financing piece needs an element of convincing as it goes through. The biggest piece is that there are no comps available north of � Portiand and there needs to be a level of confidence for sales. Greene again asked if the project is dependent upon pre-sales or is the necessary financing available to build and then sell. Campbell said the group has the wherewithal to � do so. McLellan said there is no project in Maine that isn't on a pre-sa{e - requirement. She would like to see pre-sales quickly but she can't associate a timeframe with it at this moment. Campbell indicated that the thresholds should � be accomplished by the first of the year (2008). Responding to Farrington, Campbell said there are two levels of � commitment. Tens of thousands of dollars will be committed immediately in the advertising and marketing campaign. Then, an element of threshold would be � reached so a decision can be made no later than the first of the year, if not sooner. Farrington stressed the need to not have partial or empty buildings on City land. � McKay said the purpose of this item was to allow the developers an � opportunity to present their proposal. There is another item on the agenda to � discuss the proposed terms and conditions of the development agreement in executive session. On Monday, July 23, 2007, staff will ask the Council to approve an order that will authorize a development agreement subject to terms � and conditions as approved by this committee by the end of August. Hawes indicated that she like the proposed plans and that it seems to be � � � a good fit for the waterfront area. On the other hand, the Council in the past has been in situations where a proposal has been in progress without any � � results. It is prime property and the Council needs to make the right choice for the City and its citizens. She wanted to be sure that if the project in the future appears not to be feasible that the development team pull the plug. She made a � motion to move the proposal forward for the full City Council's action with the conditions stated by the City Manager that further discussions are needed. _ Gratwick seconded the motion. He urged the development team to take a ,� positive outlook, such as Hollywood Slots, and move forward with the project with full confidence. 4. Ban or Museum and Center for Hist � . g ory McKay said that back in March the Museum's Board of Directors ,, approached the Council requesting $300,000, afiter going through the Cultural Commission, in CDBG funds to make handicap accessible improvements to their � building at 25 Broad Street that was donated to the Museum by the Arata's. At that time, CDBG funds were not available but the Committee recommended that � � � ! ' funds for this project and funds for the Penobscot Theatre be included in the Community Development budget for this year. This was approved by the Council � in May of 2007. As of July 1�, the funds are available to the City. All documents are in place. A development agreement has been prepared 6y the Legal Department stafF, architectural plans are done and are annotated with what the � CDBG funds will be used for, and are ready to seek Council approval for a $300,000 loan to the Bangor Museum. It wouid be made under similar terms to the loan made to the Penobscot Theatre in that as long as they remain open and � operating that 1/20"' each year would be forgiven. The loan would be secured by a mortgage on the 25 Broad Street properly. The architect is willing to monitor the contractor on behalf of the City and to advise the City on making � payments out of the escrow account directly to the contractor. Staff recommends approval of the loan to the Bangor Museum and Center for History. ' Responding to Gratwick, McKay said that after five years, 15/20th's of the loan would still be owed to the City. The City holds the mortgage. If the building � ceased to operate as a Museum under the terms of the agreement, the loan would become due in full for the balance of the amount due with 1/20�' forgiven each year. If not paid, the City could take possession by foreclosure. The loan ' is part of a larger project with an anonymous donor with a million dollars. Each dollar put in by the City will be matched by funds provided by that donor. The _ total project is $2.3M with funding being sought from other sources. The CDBG � funding is for handicap accessibility only. Greene commended McKay for his use of CDBG funds and is in full � support of the project. � A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval to the full Council. 1 5. Executive Session — Economic Development— Negotiations for Disposition of Waterfront Property � A motion was made and seconded to go into executive session. 6. Committee Action on Above Item. � A motion was made and the Committee unanimously voted to recommend to the City Council that a development agreement with John Sites be approved ' until August 31, 2007 subject to such terms and conditions as approved by the Business and Economic Development Committee. � 7. Executive Session — Economic Development— Negotiations for Disposition of Property— BIA Commercial/Industrial Park � � i ,1 A motion was made and seconded to go into executive session. 8. Committee Action on Above Item. � No Committee action was taken. � 9. Executive Session — Economic Development— Negotiations for Disposition of Waterfront Property � A motion was made and seconded to go into executive session. � 10. Committee Action on Above Item. No Committee action was taken. r li. Executive Session — Economic Development— Negotiations for Disposition � of Waterfront Property " A motion was made and seconded to go into executive session. � 12. Committee Action on Above Item. No Committee action was taken. � i � � � � 1 1 . � ! �