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10/14/2019 Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 Meeting Minutes Monday, October 14, 2019 9:00 AM Main Library - Council Chambers Community Redevelopment Agency Page 1 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Roll Call Present 3 - Chair George N. Cretekos, Trustee Bob Cundiff, and Trustee David Allbritton Absent 2 - Trustee Hoyt Hamilton, and Trustee Jay Polglaze Also Present—William B. Horne I I — City Manager, Micah Maxwell —Assistant City Manager, Michael Delk - Assistant City Manager, Pamela K. Akin — City Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, and Amanda Thompson — CRA Executive Director To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 1. Call To Order— Chair Cretekos The meeting was called to order at 9:21 a.m. in Council Chambers at the Main Library. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approve the minutes of the September 16, 2019 CRA Meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. Trustee Allbritton moved to approve the minutes of the September 16, 2019 CRA Meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda Bill Jonson thanked staff and the Trustees for the great town hall conversation on diversity that occurred last week. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Approve the proposed 2020 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting schedule and adopt CRA Resolution 19-02. Page 2 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Staff has prepared the proposed meeting schedule of the City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board for the calendar year 2020. CRA board meeting will be held monthly in the City Council Chambers, 100 N. Osceola Avenue. The meeting schedule will be posted on the CRA's website, with separate meeting notices provided by the City Clerk's Office and noted on the City's website prior to each meeting. If there is no action for the board to consider at a scheduled meeting, staff will recommend the meeting be cancelled. Changes to the dates may be required to accommodate needs of the board members and/or CRA staff. If there is a need for a special meeting CRA staff will notify the board and the meeting will be noticed by the City Clerk's Office as well as on the City's website. Trustee Cundiff moved to approve the proposed 2020 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting schedule. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. CRA Resolution 19-02 was presented and read by title only. Trustee Allbritton moved to adopt CRA Resolution 19-02. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: 3 - Chair Cretekos, Trustee Cundiff and Trustee Allbritton 4.2 Approve a contract for the sale of surplus property owned by the City of Clearwater located at 610 Franklin Street to the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) with a purchase price of$1,006,000 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. The 2018 Clearwater Downtown Redevelopment Plan and the 18-month strategy call for the construction of new rental housing in downtown. The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is actively seeking sites that will support new housing to provide an increased number of residents to patronize local retail and restaurants as well as increase foot traffic throughout downtown. The city-owned property located at 610 Franklin Street (Property) is 1.85 acres and was utilized as a fire station until a new facility was constructed at 1140 Court Street in 2014. The CRA issued a Letter of Interest (LOI) to determine if there was any desire from the private market to implement a for profit, adaptive reuse project. The only respondent to the LOI proposed creating a non-profit arts center. Bringing the current building up to code would cost approximately $1,000,000. The building is now vacant and is not conducive to alternative uses. Market rate redevelopment of the site is challenging because the Property lies between two institutional facilities. Page 3 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Given the current conditions, housing is the best use for this site and aligned with adopted plans. The CRA issued Request for Proposals (RFP) 50-19 calling for a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project under a program administered by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC). The successful respondent to RFP 50-19 will have site control of the Property and will submit an application to FHFC. A successful proposal will have a minimum of 80 units, will be a minimum of seven stories and will be available to income qualifying residents consistent with FHFC program requirements. If the respondent does not secure the tax credits, the CRA will continue to pursue other housing redevelopment proposals. Two independent appraisals were performed on the property. James Millspaugh and Associates appraised the Property as of June 27, 2019 and determined fair market value to be $2,000,000. Tobias Realty Advisors, LLC appraised the Property at $1,585,000 with a valuation date of July 2, 2019. At the October 3, 2019 council meeting, the City Council approved the declaration of surplus property to be purchased by the CRA for$1,006,000. Staff recommends approval of this purchase. APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT: Funding is available for this purchase in the Downtown Redevelopment project fund 388-94714 Trustee Allbritton moved to approve a contract for the sale of surplus property owned by the City of Clearwater located at 610 Franklin Street to the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) with a purchase price of $1,006,000 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.3 Approve an agreement for the sale and development of the property located at 610 Franklin Street to Blue Sky Communities, LLC for the purposes identified in Request for Proposals (RFP) 09-19 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) issued RFP 09-19 on August 17, 2019 to redevelop the former Fire Station 45 site at 610 Franklin Street as a low-income housing tax credit project. The 2018 Downtown Redevelopment Plan calls for a variety of housing to support a range of incomes including market rate, workforce and low- to moderate-income rental units to meet the unmet housing demand for a diverse workforce in the Downtown Core, employees in the medical field at Morton Plant and the hospitality industry on Page 4 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Clearwater Beach. The RFP invited qualified applicants with previous experience and financial resources to develop a minimum of eighty residential units under the Florida Housing Finance Corporation's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. Staff reviewed three qualified proposals and recommended Blue Sky Communities as the winning proposal on September 18, 2019. Blue Sky Communities proposes to construct a 9-story, 81-unit housing development with a two-story, 81-space parking garage and ground floor commercial space. They will meet the newly adopted downtown design guidelines, provide bicycle parking and create a pedestrian plaza on Pierce Street to preserve existing trees on the site. They have proposed a contemporary architectural style with a variety of exterior building materials and building step-backs that create visual interest from the street. The unit mix is 30 1-bedroom, 47 two-bedroom and 4 three-bedroom units. This is a mixed income project with 16% of the units at 30% AMI, 69% of the units at 60% AMI and 15% of the units at 80% AMI. The developer anticipates future residents having $216,000 in new disposable income after moving into this project. The total development costs are approximately $22,000,000. This includes a purchase price of$2,000,000 from the CRA and a loan from City/CRA of $747,000 at interest rate of 4%. Blue Sky has successfully funded 22 total tax credit projects and 15 of those were 9% projects, like the one proposed. The tax credit application to the Florida Housing Finance Authority is due November 7, 2019 and a decision is expected by March 2020. If the tax credits are awarded, construction would begin in April 2021. This proposal meets the Principles, Goals and Objectives of the 2018 Clearwater Downtown Redevelopment Plan to support redevelopment projects that are pedestrian friendly, incorporate quality urban design and provide a variety of land uses in downtown, specifically Policy 12 and 18: • Policy 12: The City shall make use of Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership Program, State Housing Initiatives Partnership program, and other federal, state, and county funds for Downtown infrastructure and increasing affordable housing options. • Policy 18: The design of all projects in Downtown shall incorporate pedestrian-scale elements that create and maintain an inviting pedestrian environment. CRA approval of the sale and development of this site to Blue Sky Communities is recommended. In response to questions, CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson said the proposed development will consist of 81 units. Staff believes the workforce housing units will be a good thing for Downtown. The individuals in this demographic are cost burdened, paying more than 30% of their income towards housing. If these individuals currently spend 50% of their paycheck on housing and are able to spend 30% on housing, that frees up more money for discretionary items that could be Page 5 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 spent in Downtown. She said the proposed development provides an opportunity to those who are cost burdened on housing to not spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The 50-year requirement for the project to remain affordable is a requirement of the tax credit program, ensuring the units remain affordable. The project will allow a range of incomes, $20,000 to $55,000, with households composed of up to 4 individuals to qualify to reside in the units. She said the development agreement includes the proposed design and materials, which will be reviewed prior to permitting. Trustee Cundiff moved to approve an agreement for the sale and development of the property located at 610 Franklin Street to Blue Sky Communities, LLC for the purposes identified in Request for Proposals (RFP) 09-50 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.4 CRA Advertising and Marketing Strategy Presentation - Rosemary D'Amour, CRA Public Relations Program Manager CRA Public Relations Program Manager Rosemary D'Amour provided a PowerPoint presentation. In response to questions, Ms. D'Amour said the Downtown Development Board provided funding for the USF Axis 3-D Lab event. Staff believes that the DDB will continue to be a strategic partner in the future. She said the DDB is assisting staff with two viral video campaigns that will promote Downtown. CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson said the perception is that nothing is going on in Downtown because of the vacant storefronts. The advertising and marketing strategy is staffs first step to change that perception by creating interest about the activities in Downtown. Staff anticipates the strategy will have a positive impact in the area, which will encourage property owners to be more engaged. She said the DDB is shifting their funding efforts to market downtown organizations. The City Manager said the CRA may not be in complete alignment with the other downtown partners, it may be time for staff to discuss with these partners to identify where the alignment gaps exist. Staff will remain positive, recognize what is within the CRA's control and continue marketing Downtown and its accomplishments. Page 6 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency 5. Director's Report Adjourn Attest f �tiC •yiJC��c- City Clerk City of Clearwater Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson said staff has been unable to negotiate a final agreement with Hop Daddy for the 115 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. site; staff will come back to the CRA regarding next steps on the property. In response to questions, Ms. Thompson said Tequila's met their grant deadline and have received their temporary CO. The Nolen has submitted full grant applications for the three pre -qualified spaces (a food hall, a self -serve beer/wine establishment, and a coffee house.) The meeting adjourned at 10:04 a.m. cteci tv c e.t\t, V.03 Chair Community Redevelopment Agency Page 7