07/14/2003COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING
CITY OF CLEARWATER
July 14, 2003
Present: Brian J. Aungst Chair/CRA Trustee
Hoyt P. Hamilton Vice Chair/CRA Trustee
Whitney Gray CRA Trustee
William C. Jonson CRA Trustee
Frank Hibbard CRA Trustee
Mary Rogero Ex-Officio
Dwight Matheny Ex-Officio
Also present: William B. Horne II City Manager
Garry Brumback Assistant City Manager
Ralph Stone CRA Executive Director/Asst. City Manager
Pamela K. Akin City Attorney
Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk
Brenda Moses Board Reporter
The Chair called the meeting to order at 1:11 p.m. at City Hall.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order.
ITEM #2 - Approval of Minutes - Special Meeting 03/24/03 and Regular Meeting 06/02/03
CRA Trustee Jonson moved to approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of March 24, 2003, as recorded by the City Clerk and submitted in written summation to each Trustee. The motion
was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Regarding the June 2, 2003 minutes, Commissioner Jonson suggested changing paragraph 6 on page 6 as he felt the language was unreflective of what was said.
Discussion ensued regarding the suggested change and consensus was not to change the minutes.
CRA Trustee Hibbard moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 2, 2003, as recorded by the City Clerk and submitted in written summation to each Trustee. The motion
was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
ITEM #3 - Approve Selection Committee ranking of respondents to the Request for Proposals and Qualifications (RFP/Q) for the redevelopment of the Station Square Parking Lot Site and
authorize the negotiation of a development agreement with the top ranked proposal.
On May 12, 2003, the CRA authorized the issuance of an RFP/Q to select a qualified developer/development team to redevelop the Station Square Parking Lot site as a mixed-use infill
development. The CRA is making the site available for redevelopment as a catalyst for new urban housing and professional office use in
the Downtown core. The site is 35,968+/- square feet, currently used as a public parking surface lot, and is owned by the CRA.
Two developers: 1) The Beck Group, and 2) Dayhoff, LLC, responded to the RFP/Q and submitted proposals on 6/13/03.
The Selection Committee met on 6/18/03 to review the proposals. In order to gather more detailed background information on the firms’ development experience and financial history, the
Selection Committee decided to interview both firms and subsequently rank the proposals.
The selection of the development candidate will be based on four criteria, each having equal weight: 1) Development qualifications; 2) Financial capability of the development team; 3)
Economic benefit to the City of Clearwater; and 4) Merits of the conceptual development plan.
The major components of the preferred proposal will contain the following:
Provision for public and private parking spaces;
New retail storefronts and a restaurant fronting on Cleveland Street;
Provision of urban housing;
Potential for including office space;
Willingness to work with the City regarding urban design issues;
Incorporation of proposed Streetscape design;
Realistic development and construction schedule; and Negotiation of development incentives with the City/CRA
The selected proposal will be reviewed by the Community Development Board as a Comprehensive Infill application for site and architectural design as well as review of the additional
dwelling units allocated through the Public Amenities Incentive Pool.
Economic Development and Housing Director Reg Owens referred to a map of the site. He said the original infill site contains approximately 36,000 square feet and is currently used
by the City as a parking lot. Beck is proposing to enlarge this site by acquiring an additional 6,500 square feet. The building will be approximately 130 feet high. The proposal does
not include any office but Beck and Dayhoff may look to move the Dayhoff offices into the redevelopment program. The CRA site will be sold at fair market price and parking will be replaced.
In response to a question, Mr. Owens said the project includes 100 condominiums and 9,900 square feet of retail space with a restaurant at ground level. Dayhoff’s proposal included
office with 40 condos; Beck’s did not, however, was a stronger response. Mr. Owens said the City would provide streetscaping improvements as an incentive to developers.
It was remarked that this project addresses several of the City’s top priorities and includes residential, retail, and parking.
CRA Trustee Hamilton moved to authorize staff to negotiate a development agreement with the top ranked respondent to the RFP/Q for development of the Station Square parking lot site.
The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
ITEM #4 - Executive Director (Assistant City Manager) Verbal Reports
CRA Executive Director/Assistant City Manager Ralph Stone said the DDB (Downtown Development Board) and the Mainstreet Committee held a brainstorming session to discuss successes in
the downtown. He said all but 25 items proposed succeeded.
CRA Ex-Officio Mary Rogero requested consideration be given to increasing the number of two-bedroom condominium units for the project at Drew Street as she believed they would sell
better than one-bedroom units. Mr. Owens said the developer plans to perform their own market analysis to determine the appropriate market mix and square footage of units. Trustee Jonson
said there was discussion at the joint meeting of capitalizing on the portion of the Pinellas Trail that runs through Downtown.
ITEM #5 - Other Business – None.
ITEM #6 - Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 1:37 p.m.