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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-11-06 TranscriptionNovember 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 1 Council Present: Botchway, Dickens, Dobyns (arrived 5:14), Hayek, Mims, Payne, Throgmorton Staff Present: Markus, Fruin, Dilkes, Karr, Ford, Davidson, Boothroy, Yapp, Howard, Bockenstedt, Bramel Others Present: McCarthy (UISG) Confirmation of the Court / Linn RFP Finalists: Hayek/ Okay, we'll get started. Welcome everyone to the work session of November 6, 2014. Uh, we're here for the Court / Linn RFP finalist process. Uh, Rick Dobyns will be here soon. He texted me a few minutes ago (noises on mic, difficult to hear speaker) hospital, um, and he'll be here as quickly as he can. So, I'm going to turn it over to Jeff and then (both talking) Davidson/ ...Mr. Mayor, okay! Uh, good evening. I'm Jeff Davidson, the, uh, Economic Development Administrator for the City. Uh, as the Mayor's alluded to, what we are here to do this evening is to consider the six proposals that have been received for the parcel of property that the City owns and has decided to, uh, dispose of basically at, uh, the intersection of Court and Linn, the former, uh, St. Patrick's School site. Um, this, uh, property was purchased by the City following the 2007 tornado that, uh, led to the relocation of St. Patrick's parish out to, uh, far east Iowa City. Uh, at that time we were looking for the future location of what we envisioned, uh, to be one of our next major, uh, parking facilities for the City, and we envisioned at that time a public /private partnership. Uh, our last couple of major parking facilities have been very successful in that regard. Uh, what occurred subsequent to that was that, uh, the City, uh, was approached by Midwest One Bank and we entered into a partnership, uh, with them about a block and a half away for that next, uh, major, uh, City parking facility, uh, done as a ... a joint development between a private entity and the City, and what it did is it made, uh, the notion of a ... a major parking facility on this site, uh, unnecessary. We did update our demand numbers to determine that and then basically having two facilities that close together didn't make sense, at least in the short-term certainly. So, decision was made, uh, to dispose of the property, and in May of this year we issued a request for proposal document, uh, and received the six proposals that you, uh, see summarized on the, excuse me, the screen here. Uh, I do want to say, as I've said on a number of occasions, we really appreciate the time, effort, and expense taken by, uh, all six proposers. Uh, we... we ... we very much appreciate the interest in our community and in ... in this site and want to make sure that that is, uh, clearly expressed. Um, so the goal this evening, and I do want to emphasize, is not to select a preferred developer tonight. Uh, there's always a temptation to ... to go to that place cause ultimately that's where we want to be, but what ...what we're doing this evening is ... is essentially narrowing from six to what has been proposed to be, uh, three proposals. Uh, following the receipt of the six, we did determine that the, uh, the six, uh, we felt met the requirements of the request for This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 2 proposal, that they were all, uh, good legitimate proposals in that respect. Uh, we then formed an internal review committee, and you saw in the memorandum that you should all have from me, uh, want ... wanted to call out for you exactly who was involved in that review committee. Uh, Susan and Kingsley both assisted us with that. We felt it was important to start that tie with the seven of you as early as possible, and we appreciate their time and effort on the review committee, but I think it's significant that the review committee includes a large cross - section of...uh, City departments and also, uh, elected officials and administrative people, um, so that the recommendation that you have for the, uh, three, uh, recommended proposals to hear presentations from, uh, does have that ... that broad perspective. Um, the ... the major things that we evaluated the proposals against were the four that you saw listed in the memorandum — developer experience and capabilities, uh, the market and economic viability of the project, the long -term fiscal benefit to the city, and how the project furthers Iowa City's economic development and Riverfront Crossings' goals. Uh, this is a large site. It will have a very significant impact on the taxable value created on that site. Uh, since at least the 1920s, it has not generated any property taxes. It's been owned by the Catholic Church and in tax - exempt status. So it will have a significant, uh, change in that regard, uh, in terms of taxable value. Um... a couple of things that at the conclusion of our internal committee's deliberations, we wanted to make sure was communicated to the full City Council, uh, and I'll just read these very quickly. A project of this scale requires an experienced developer with a proven track record who can bring the required financial capacity to the project. You know, frankly I think all of us ... really thought the ideas included in all six proposals were great and we appreciated .... we ... we left the RFP open enough to encourage that kind of creativity and we, uh, we, you know, I think felt all six proposals were, uh, good in that regard, but I think we felt that there were some differences, uh, in ... the ... the experience of the development teams and the ability to obtain financing, and I think that's reflected in ... in the information that you've received from us. Um, something that I think is a significant... something significant to note in your decision making is that one rather significant change since the RFP was issued has been the Board of Regents' action in terms of funding the Regents' institutions, including the University of Iowa, and the financial impact that that's having on the University of Iowa, and the subsequent decision to increase University enrollment by something in the range of 4,500 to 5,000 students within a five -year time period. That has occurred since, uh, the ... the RFP was issued, and I think is something that our internal review team took very seriously because of, you know, the University is building one new residence hall to add beds, uh, that they've announced on the east side, but the west side residence hall that they're building now is basically after they finish renovating Slater and Reno will have no net increase in the number of beds in the residence hall system, or very minor. The ... the new one that is planned for the old water treatment plant site on the east side will add, um, I believe it's in the ... the order of magnitude of 400 or 500, uh ... uh, beds to the residence hall system, but the balance of that 4,000 to 4,500 kids will be absorbed by the city, by the ... the private sector, and we do want to make sure ... or it is a concern, the impact that that may have on our close -in, uh, older neighborhoods, uh, and that's something that we take very seriously, and I think influenced the recommendation that you have before you, in terms of the, uh, favored proposals. So, we did ... we did want to, um, make sure that was noted. Um ... even though the proposal, which emphasized senior housing was... there... there This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 3 was one proposal you'll recall which ... which basically was a senior housing proposal. Um, it is not among the three recommended to you for, uh, finalists, but there was a lot of interest in senior housing. Um, one of the things that ... that I think is good for you to know in terms of the presentations that you'll be hearing eventually is that these are very experienced companies in a variety of...types of development, and even the, um, the ... the proposals that would probably be judged, uh, at least a majority student housing, uh, proposals, uh, those companies, you will have the ability if you choose to hear presentations and interview them, uh, to hear if there is the possibility for them to do other things along with, um, what they have proposed in their ... in their proposals. Um, the site is certainly big enough to accommodate a mix of housing types, uh, and that is something that you should understand you would have the ability to learn more about, uh, through these companies when you have selected, uh, who the ... the finalists are. Uh, senior housing, workforce housing, student housing, uh, hotels are all things that there seem to be some level of, uh, experience by a number of the firms. Um, and ... and the final items there, you know, we certainly acknowledged...it...it was very interesting and I think not something that we expected to see the couple of proposals for the very large - scale buildings that did not, at least at this stage of the process, request any, uh ... uh, financial assistance through TIF, uh, from the City. Now, I do want to emphasize (mumbled) the time we have negotiated a development agreement, that could potentially change, especially if you as a decision - making body indicate that there may be some other things you want to make sure are included in the project that maybe haven't been proposed initially. Um, to ... to the degree that we, uh, add things that are difficult to finance, that's when they will, uh, come back to us for, uh ... uh ... uh financial assistance through TIF, which... the... the property is really a prime ... a prime property to do that with, given how low the ... the base is initially and how much taxable value would be created by these, uh, larger -scale projects. So, uh, that was something else in terms of your decision - making here that we wanted to make sure, uh ... urn .... was ... was part of ...was on your radar basically in terms of deciding who the, uh, finalists will be. Um... let's see ... uh, all six of the proposals included the, uh, spec, uh, office space that the City requested, ostensibly what we hope to eventually be an expansion of the Iowa City Co- Lab relocation, uh, across the street, uh, there. They're, uh, you know, really just packed in there now and would like to have a larger space, more elaborate space, be able to do some things that they can't do, and so we made the decision to include that as an element of the RFP. All six of the proposals can, uh, can accommodate that. Urn ... and I think those were all the points I wanted to hit. Um, again, what ... what is before you this evening in terms of...of your discussion, uh, is selecting the finalists, which would be here to make presentations on the 17th, that's a Monday, uh, at 5:00, uh, and I certainly want to emphasize that it is wide open in terms of ultimately what you, uh, decide you would like to do in terms of the, uh, the six proposals before you. Uh, Kingsley and Susan, anything to add? Mims/ Well, I think we can either just throw it open or I can go through and, I mean, I don't know if people kind of want to hear a summary at all of... of how we kind of ended up where we did or if people just want to ... start in on discussion. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 4 Throgmorton/ I ... I ... well, I'd like to ask whether we have seen, uh, minutes of that Economic Development Committee meeting. Davidson/ There were no minutes recorded, Jim. Throgmorton/ (several talking) All... all... right, that's right, I'm sorry. So any... any... there's no minutes of that (both talking) Davidson/ You're talking about of our internal committee (both talking) Throgmorton/ I'm sorry, yeah, I meant to ref ...to be referring to that. I think it'd be helpful to hear, uh, provide, hear some overview of what the Committee did. Mims/ Okay. Is that ... what people want (several talking) Okay. Um, well let me just go through then and try, and Kingsley, please, please feel free to jump in, or any other Committee Members that are in the audience (laughs) Um ... and going back from my notes in terms of, uh, you know, what we looked at and some of the thoughts, and ... and I would echo what Jeff said. There were ... there were some really great ideas in all six of these, um, and it was a matter of looking, you know, overall at... at what we thought fit best and, um, in that location, and I would also say that, um ... the ... the situation with the University and the funding certainly, you know, was ... was in our minds as well in terms of, uh, what we might want to do here. Um, let me just start through, um, with C. A. Campus I think it was. Um, I think some of the things that we liked about that was ... was the potential hotel and also it looked like a high -end potential hotel. They had, um, a fair amount of real ... uh, retail space in there. They ... they did not specifically have office space, but they certainly were allowing... they... they had in their flex space, uh, knowing that that was really kind of a high priority for the City of having office space. So they had some ... some ways of...of working with that. I think all of us had maybe a little bit of concern about the density with this particular project, but again, this is at the very preliminary stage with negotiations, obviously, to take place, um, if this one happened to be selected. Um, they advertise or promote that they have a full- service, on -site staff, umm, to manage the ... the residential. So the idea that this would be, um, kind of like a private dormitory is certainly the ... the idea that I got from it. I think one of the positives certainly was they were offering to pay, uh, $5 million for the land. They were estimating at about $1.2 million in property tax annually, and $330,000 in hotel /motel tax. Um ... no financial assistance from the City. Uh (noises on mic) Hayek/ Sorry! Might have been me! Throgmorton/ Easy, Matt, easy! (laughter) Mims/ They ... they did have, um, at least from my notes I thought three good examples of prior experience. Um, two of them at universities, one at University of Michigan, one at Texas A &M, and then they also had a Hyatt Place, uh, hotel at Champagne- Urbana. Um, I know from my notes, one of my concerns, and I think we talked about this. They didn't ... they didn't emphasize or either didn't have anything or didn't show much in This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 5 terms of sustainability, um, on that particular project. Urn ... on the Hub, that was the other, um, mostly student - oriented. Again, a lot of experience, um, Tucson, Madison, Phoenix. They indicated that they manage their own properties. Um, it showed they had a lot of experience, uh, and again I would say with both of these, very, um... strong experience in a very similar kind of project, and also, um, strong financial support with letters that they had. Uh, Hub has resident directors and RAs in their buildings. Um, again, they were offering to pay about $4.5 for the ... million for the land, um ... no, asking for no public financing at all. Uh, they referred to it as a `luxury building,' um, so I'm not sure what they're looking at in terms of...of rental rates for students. They did have 20,000 square feet for the office space that we were asking for. They did not have any, uh, retail or commercial. They indicated, uh, from a sustainability standpoint that they... they strive to attain, uh, LEED certification, but I don't recall that they indicated what level of LEED. So that was, uh ... pretty wide open, and they did indicate, um, high - efficiency mechanical systems. So, those were the two specifically, uh, more student - oriented, but I think ... showed very similar projects that they've done before that certainly showed the appearance of success, showed um, the financial wherewithal, uh, to do the projects. Liked the hotel, uh, that C.A. Camp has put in there. Hub did put in office space. So, and ... and internal management, etc., for, uh, for going forward. So those were some of the... and... and again, I think a lot of the highlight for us in ... as well there was the financial part of it. Um, both of them offering to pay a significant amount of money for the property, and at least at this point, not asking for any financial assistance, um, from the City. Uh, the Sherman project is the third one that the Committee recommended, um, as one of the finalists. They were looking at, uh, I think two or three buildings. They had I think 146 -room hotel, um, talking about their, uh, 91- market rate residential as young professional, so high quality, so I'm assuming that, you know, again you're looking at, in that case, the higher end, uh, probably in terms of rents. Uh, they did have office space. Uh, they indicated that they do long -term ownership operation of their projects. They do have experience, um, they did a $61 million condo -hotel in Minneapolis; a $40 million hotel- housing unit in Duluth; um, finance... financial, they had the experience there. This one did have a gap of about ... I have down $20 million, um, obviously since this one came out, um, you know, we've had some other information, uh, about delays and some issues out of the Des Moines' area, um, that came after we had made that selection. So I ... certainly if we bring them in, I think, you know, we're gonna want to have some explanation and ... and questions regarding, um... Davidson/ And ... and we have, Susan, had, uh, did ... tried to do a little due diligence on, after the newspaper article came out, um, and I did talk to George Sherman himself, the ... the CEO of the company, um, and ... and we have asked Tom Jackson, who I think is here this evening. Mims/ Yep! Davidson/ ...behind me, um, he ... he has indicated, and can elaborate for you if you're interested, that there have been some ... very interesting things that have sort of created some chaos in the tax credit world, uh ... uh, and Sherman, if you remember their financial proposal, did rely heavily on ... on tax credits and that's something, especially historic tax credits This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 6 like you referred to the Duluth project — that's an old rehab project of a downtown hotel. They rely... and... and one of the Des Moines' projects, the Randolph Hotel, um, a... apparently because of the situation nationally with tax credits, that's created some of the issues ... some of the issues that that are legitimate issues but ... but nonetheless have some logical explanation to them. Mims/ Okay. Okay. Well I'm sure Council will, you know, want to hear more about that, assuming, you know, if we do bring them in. Um, Millennium, was, um, class -A residential, um, they had 20,000 square feet for, as they called `co -work space.' Um, this is an eight -story project, so a little bit smaller than some of the others. They were looking for ... I think it was a 15 -year tax rebate on the office space. Urn ... they did have some mixed use experience, uh, some high -rise, some mid -rise, I think high -rise I saw was in San Diego. They had more mid -rise in Norman, Oklahoma. Uh, they indicated they would pursue, uh, LEED certification, uh, they believe they did have good financial, urn ... indications in there for support, um, just wasn't ... I don't know, just didn't quite come up to that same level as the other three that we had. They also indicated full -time, uh, service management. They ... they indicate a blend of young professionals, students, staff, faculty, urn ... not exactly sure how that was going to be achieved, uh, but that was the indication of what they were looking for, um, in terms of that one. Um... Davidson/ I would say before you... Mims/ Yep! Davidson/ ...you, uh, complete your review, Susan, um, the ... the three proposals that Susan has been through, um, that ... that you ... could probably most easily be identified as student housing projects, I think in ... in looking at those proposals, and ... and in some of the things that we've ... we've heard as part of our due diligence is that there's an amenity level associated with those, uh, buildings that ... that maybe ... maybe actually something that's not currently existing in Iowa City, at least that would be my interpretation of it, and that they do market those units to not just... certainly not just undergraduate students, but graduate level students, and the young professionals, uh, that are in their 20s, that are maybe associated with ... like Hub, for example, does a lot of marketing with a ... uh, tech companies that have ... have young people that still want to be part of that environment, but aren't actually affiliated with the University anymore. So I think it's ... it's kind of a ... a slightly broader student market than maybe what we would normally think of. Mims/ Yeah, certainly with some of the examples that some of them showed of their projects that they've already done, the amenities, I would definitely say are things that we have not seen in student housing (laughs) in this community. Um, very, very different. Um, the ... the remaining two projects, uh, Courtland Terrace and Courtland Lofts, um, I think both had, uh, some very positive things, uh, in terms of, you know, commercial space, um, the ... the Terrace was looking at, uh, I think, high -end concierge service, etc. Um, had some good, um ... uh, environmental things, talking some geothermal, some rainwater capture, etc. I think... for me at least, and I think from the discussion, some... one of the bigger concerns I think that we had with these two was, urn ... experience ... showing that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 7 they had the experience through the developer to actually put up a building of this ... a project of this size. Um, they had done some other things, but maybe had the architectural work on really large projects, but the actual construct... development and construction on a really, really large project, um, as I recall was somewhat lacking on both of those, and I think when we're looking at that, um, I think that was ... was fairly, uh, significant. But again, they had, you know, the retail, some of the class -A office space, urn ... both of `em I think looked pretty good actually environmentally. Um, so it just ... without going on, I'll open it up for questions, other discussion, but that kind of gives ya a, I think, a real quick over... at least from my perspective of what we saw in these projects, and ... and I would certainly encourage any of the other Committee Members, if you ... heard or remember things differently than I did to (laughs) chime in! Davidson/ So what we'd like to end up with at the end of the evening is a consensus on the, uh, proposers that you would like to invite in on the 17t ", uh, to make presentations and basically, uh, allow them to be interviewed by you to, uh, your satisfaction. Throgmorton/ One thing I noticed, uh, is that you ... you made, um, drew a considerable amount of attention to, uh, the shifts in the University's student housing needs, um, but we ... we haven't received that in written form. So, what we're hearing is... some words, uh, but no real analysis of...of the implications, uh, of the increase in number of students, projections of the number of increased students, and the implications for housing within the city. Uh, and yet a lot of weight is being put on ... those expectations about what the University will be doing and what the implications would be. Dilkes/ Actually, you know, let me ... I don't recall that during the Committee discussions at all. Throgmorton/ Recall what? Dilkes/ I ... the focus on the changes in the University. Throgmorton/ Jeff emphasized it in oral... Dilkes/ Right, and that may have been ... that may have played into Jeff's thinking and ... and other individual Committee Members thinking, but the focus of the Committee was on the criteria, the rankings in the RFP, and I don't remember any discussion at the Committee meeting about changes in University... financing policy, etc. Mims/ It... it may have been mentioned. There certainly wasn't a lot of... any significant discussion, and I would go back and say at that committee, we all came in having ranked all of them based on the RFP. Based on the scoring criteria. So, urn ... I can't remember if we started with a little bit of discussion and then put our... all of our scores up or... and then we had some more discussion, but ... yeah, I would emphasize that everybody came in, and I think if there was discussion related to what ended up ... what is student housing, it was more, uh, one of the criteria in terms of the City's financial commitment. Um, and so what, you know, what does that mean. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 8 Dilkes/ That's what I recall, is that the ... the ones that were called out, in their proposals anyway, as student housing, the primary dis ... distinction was that they were going to pay us for the land and they weren't asking for any TIF. Mims/ Right. Davidson/ Yeah, I will you that the proposers are very aware of the University's plans to increase enrollment. Botchway/ I would have to agree. I don't necessarily remember, uh, that much weight given to the University's plans; however, uh, we did have some discussion on, um, I think I remember Dennis making the comment about, um ... currently student housing on the periphery of downtown, and you know, talking about how this could be an opportunity to move students out of that periphery and uh, and I guess maybe this is more now me interjecting some of my own thoughts, um, using programs like the UniverCity program and other things to incorporate more affordable housing around the periphery, um, and move those students out. Uh, simply because, uh, you know, now hearing more, um, about the University funding and you know, the possibility of more projects for more students, it seems an even better situation simply because, you know, we're not, you know, I guess Iowa City in some sense is not really built to deal with that current... currently and... and students would then push further into neighborhoods and all that fun stuff and so I think it, again it wasn't heavy weight as far as the University funding perspective, but I think that adds, for me, a more positive weight on it, uh, from that standpoint. Dobyns/ Jeff, I was wondering, is the market pressure so high for student housing, and I guess I'm really talking undergraduate. If this has like up to 900 students, how would that effect, um, with the projections being what they are for the University and Kirkwood students, how would that effect, uh, rental for students? And then indirectly, if that were to go down, would that have a comparable decrease in potential rental in ... nearby but non - student housing? Davidson/ yeah, I think the ... the, uh, market analysis about rental housing in Iowa City have shown a very, very low vacancy rate, in particular that mile from the University campus, which has affected rents, I mean, clearly. Um, highest... among the highest rents in the... in the state. Um, you know, we certainly haven't done any specific analysis, Rick, in terms of trying to monitor that projection in ... in enrollment at the University with adding more supply, um, I think it's clear that with such a low vacancy rate, there's going to need to be more supply, um, with ... with, in order to keep a, you know, a walkable, uh, walkable orientation to student housing in this ... in this community. Payne/ Well, clearly if there isn't some place for somebody to live, they're not going to be able to increase their enrollment. They have to live some place! So ... you know, it's ... they're going to be some place. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 9 Dobyns/ Well I think like Kingsley said, there's the... consequence of them moving farther out from the University. Payne / Right, exactly! (both talking) Dobyns/ ...that would be a... Payne/ ...that would be... Davidson/ Right, and then that introduces a whole new discussion of bus routes and University parking policies and that sort of thing, if you have the housing not walkable to the University campus. Botchway/ One thing I wanted to throw out there was, and I can't ... we'll have to go through each of the proposals, but urn ... was the ... the potential for, um, hotels, and I think you brought that up in a couple of the, uh, kind of the summary of the discussion. And that I will say just from my standpoint weighed heavily on me, simply because, uh, you know, currently we have, you know, the University, we have a lot of the great events here, but we only have a ... a couple of the hotels, you know, primarily people will go to Coralville and walk or bus over, you now, to Iowa City and participate, um, and that, again, from the revenue, and stop me if I'm wrong, the revenue from the hotel /motel tax would then go directly to Iowa City, from a potential hotel property. Davidson/ Yes, a portion of it. Botchway/ Okay, and so ... that again played a part in at least my decision, um, on the properties, as well, because that seemed to me a very, um, important part that the City should consider from a financial standpoint. Throgmorton/ Could ... oh, go ahead! Payne/ I just had a question about the ... the residential components. The Sherman says 91 class - A market rate units ... which is quite different than the Hub, which is 430, and C.A. Ventures, which is 304. So, I mean, 91 units compared to ... over 300 and over 400, I'm ...I'm not quite following... the... so that means that Court and Linn is going to be more hotel ... than residential units? Davidson/ Right, yeah, Sherman is interested in one of their buildings, potentially, being a hotel, and they have ... I think Susan mentioned they have been a hotel developer in both Duluth and Minneapolis, uh... Payne/ So that one is hotel, office, and a few residential. Davidson/ Right, and the office is a relatively minor component, actually, of all six. Payne/ Okay. Sorry, Jim (several talking) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 10 Throgmorton/ Oh, that's all right. Davidson/ ...and in fact maybe that's worth mentioning, that it's pretty much a wash in terms of the office space between the six proposals. It's basically the 20 .... 20,000 square feet. I mean, they could do more than less than that if...if we asked them to but, um, pretty much a wash between the six. Throgmorton/ So ... if I could I'll bring up a couple other topics, or related but different, you know. Uh, so the first has to do with the way market's work. If there's a big increase in demand for student housing, it would seem to me that developers will meet that demand by proposing to build new student - oriented apartment... apartments. Uh, and it seems to me there's ample space within the Riverfront Crossings dif...district for that to occur. So, the question that comes to my mind is, why should we dedicate this site to student housing? Not ... not that you're saying we should do that. I know we have six alternative (both talking) Davidson/ I assume your question is directed at your six colleagues. Throgmorton/ Yeah ... yeah, it's kind of an out there question, uh, why should we dedicate this site to student housing, knowing that because of the way markets work, developers will try to meet that demand by building housing in other parts of the Riverfront Crossing's (both talking) Dobyns/ Like why now and why not just later? You know... Throgmorton/ Why not (both talking) Payne/ ...build anyway. Throgmorton/ ...why not use the site differently, instead ... I mean, you have ... we have a choice! It's a really interesting choice cause there's a range of design, scale, financial involvement, uh, other ... other components (mumbled) project. So it's a really interesting mix of choices, or choice that we have. Payne/ What you're saying is the market's going to drive it anyway, so why should we use ... our property, when it's going to be driven that way anyway. Because of the increase in... Throgmorton/ That's pretty much what I'm sayin'. Payne/ Okay! Mims/ Well I think, again, from the Committee's standpoint, when we, you know ... the City of Iowa City has taken a hit from people criticizing us for the use of TIF. Okay? Throgmorton/ Yep. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 11 Mims / And I think as we looked at these, the fact that we could bring back at least one and ... and turned out to be two, very strong proposals... Throgmorton/ Yep. Mims/ ...that would from day one be financially beneficial to this city. Throgmorton/ Yep. Mims/ You know, either $4.5 or $5 million purchase of the site. Throgmorton/ And over a million dollars per year. Mims / And over a million dollars a year in property tax (both talking) Throgmorton/ Yep. Mims/ Plus ... at least one of `em hotel /motel tax ... you know, we felt it was (both talking) Pardon? Markus/ And no TIF. Mims/ No TIF, so yeah, not asking for any financial, you know, participation by the City from that regard, that ... it was important that we take a look at different kinds of projects that could go on there, and it does. It then becomes a discussion of how do you balance, uh, the financial interests of the City, and thus the citizens who are paying the property taxes, and the particular uses. I mean, we've got people who, you know, really want senior housing down there. Uh, that's going to cost us money, if you're going to do it as affordable senior housing. So, I think it's important, and yet at the same time, I think we were cognizant that we didn't want to bring back just one type of development for the Council to consider either. Throgmorton/ Right! Mims/ So ... I think at this point, we're not at the point of deciding do we want student housing there. We've gotta decide on how many and which ones we want to bring back as finalists, so that we can dig deeper into those projects, and then it may become partially a philosophical decision about what we want on (both talking) Throgmorton/ So I agree. I think that's what makes this a really interesting choice that we have before us, cause I totally recognize... the fact that we get paid like, I don't know, $5 million from the get -go and receive, I don't know, a million, million and a half or whatever it is, per year in property tax revenues, from the get -go! If we go one way! If we go another way, we've got to contribute financially in order to have something else happen in...at that site. I get it! But, my ques ... I still return to the point I made, or the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 12 question I raised about, uh, about the way markets work. If there is a demand for student housing, that... developers, private developers will meet that demand, and they will build housing in the Riverfront Crossings area. They might also do some other stuff in other parts of the city we don't like, all right? I get that, but if they build stuff, they will add property tax revenue, wherever it's (coughing, unable to hear speaker) Mims/ But again, I ... I think, I think it's a great question but I ... I think the time for that question and discussion is after we've heard the presentations, because we may get somebody here, uh, a housing develop ... a student housing developer or not that they come in and make their presentation and we start asking questions and get information, and we're like we don't want you no matter what you're putting up. Payne/ And... Mims/ So I think... otherwise, if we're trying to decide that tonight, which I'm not going to do, it's like, okay, let's eliminate student housing tonight or... Throgmorton/ I didn't say to do that. Mims/ No, I know but that's... that's what I'm saying. I don't think tonight is the time for that discussion. I think (both talking) Throgmorton/ But we have to winnow, that's the purpose, to winnow from six to three. Mims/ But, all three that ... that, at least that the Committee recommended, are not all student housing. Payne/ And, I think (both talking) Throgmorton/ But two of `em are, right? Payne/ ...when I look at what the market is, the market line on the second page here, I think it's obvious that the developers... think that this is a good place for student housing, where (both talking) Throgmorton/ Oh sure! It's near the University! Yeah! Payne/ We asked for (both talking) and almost all of them have student housing in them. So that's obviously what they think the market's going to bear. Throgmorton/ Which is true of anywhere in the Riverfront Crossings' district. Payne/ Right. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 13 Dobyns/ Why do the two student options look so good? I mean, they ... they're gonna act ... they're the only ones paying for the property. There's no (several talking) mean... Throgmorton/ Right, and then (several talking) paying property taxes. Dobyns/ ...it looks too good to be true, maybe it's too good to be true. I mean ... why's that, Jeff? Dickens/ And do we really need to narrow it down to just three? I mean, where ... you guys have done really a lot of work, and I know we're narrowing it down, but like you said, we start getting some of these in and suddenly you're... you're with one that may ... one or two that you're not even sure that we're gonna like after we talk to `em, do we have to go back? Do we need to look at all of `em? Just a question. Botchway/ My ... my question, um, is, you know, in the event that we, um, decide on, you know, one of the ones that are gonna give a lot of money, um, and not, um, request a gap, cause you mentioned just a second ago that, you know, currently right now they're not asking for TIF. You know, could there be a situation in the future, uh, if we do ask for other amenities, maybe we decide that, you know, we want platinum -level LEED, um, then they would ask for, you know, $15 million in gap financing. Then could we then go back to the rest of the other proposals? Cause that would be my fear cause... Davidson/ Yeah, and I think one of the things that ... that is, uh, something that I would imagine you'll at least discuss is an affordable housing component. That depending on an affordable housing component, or a workforce housing component, that you would make a requirement of the project that could lead to a gap that they would want us to fill. It's possible. Throgmorton/ So... so could I bring up the second question I had in mind, as well? Uh, so this project's located in the Riverfront Crossings' district and is, uh, at least potentially subject to the form -based code, and hence to the density bonus provisions of the form - based code. Davidson/ Yeah, and to clarify, it is zoned Riverfront Crossings, uh... Throgmorton/ Okay, yeah, excellent (both talking) Davidson/ ...for the Riverfront Crossings' zone, yeah. Throgmorton/ So here's my question. What's the interaction in terms of the Committee's review and the staff assessment, what's the interaction between the form -based code's density bonuses, and ... whether financial assistance is needed? In other words, with regard to C.A ... well, here's an example. With regard to C.A. Ventures, well, the site permits eight stories. Under ... under the form -based code. That ... that's the, uh, maximum allowable height, unless density bonuses are provided. All right. So C.A. Ventures is proposing This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 14 something that, uh, help me if I'm wrong here. It goes up to 12 or 15 stories, I don't remember. So their... they... their currently assuming that they're going to get density bonuses. All right, so in every case, wherever a building goes above the eight stories, what I want to know is what are they presuming... what kind of bonuses are they presuming they're going to get, and why in some cases, do they also then want financial assistance? I don't get it! I mean, a bonus is supposed to make it (laughs) already more financially attractive, right? Davidson/ And I would be happy to stammer and stutter through an answer to that question, but Karen is much more familiar (laughter) Throgmorton/ She can do it better, huh? (laugher) Davidson/ ...with the form -based code, and that's why I asked her to be here this evening (laughter) Howard/ Well there are a number of bonus provisions that, um, would apply potentially to this... to the proposals. Uh, there's a potential height bonus for hotel, uh, space. There's potential height bonus for the office space. Um ... uh, for sustainability features there's potential; uh, for affordable housing there's potential bonus height. So, of course each proposal would have to be, you now, reviewed a lot more carefully cause a lot of these were very, um ... uh (both talking) Mims/ Pretty general. Howard/ ...concept oriented proposals so it was difficult to tell exactly what the square footage was and the actual height. Throgmorton/ Right, so they'd have to be sorted through. Howard/ So... Throgmorton/ All right, so let me focus on C.A. Ventures and Hub at Iowa City. Neither one of which asked for financial assistance, but both of `em are expecting to put in, I don't know, up to 15 stories. That's a bonus of seven stories, and I don't see what would legitimate that kind of bonus. For those two developments. Howard/ Um, well there ... like I said, the hotel would... would... would yield bonus provisions. Um, and the... any kind of sustain... sustainability features could yield up a four... four stories. Hotel I think ... I'd have to review the ... numbers, but um... Dickens/ Plus the office space. Howard/ Yeah, office space is, um ... (mumbled) so I'm not just speaking off the top of my head. Uh, one additional floor of building height may be granted to every floor of high quality hotel space. Um, workforce and affordable housing up to five floors. Um, elderly This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 15 housing can achieve some bonus height. Uh, class -A office space, two additional floors of building height for every floor of class -A office space. There's a height bonus for, um ...I guess those are probably be the, uh, and leadership in energy and environmental design, so up to four additional floors for projects that are designed to meet high standards with regard to energy efficiency. So all of those things could be added together. The maximum height would be 15 stories in this particular area. Davidson/ So I think to get at your question, Jim, if I'm understanding it correctly, and ... and please tell me if I'm not, is that ... the addition of those factors in order to achieve the bonus height that they would like to get, could lead to a financial gap in the project, and that's why we employ Mr. Jackson and the National Development, uh, Council to, uh, look at that gap, if those factors are introduced into the project in a manner that ... that would create a gap that they would ask us to fill. That is possible. Throgmorton/ I don't know why we would provide bonuses in order... with the result being that we'd have to pay a lot more for the bonus elements. I don't know. I'd ... I'd have to think about that myself. Dilkes/ I think we're getting way beyond ourselves here. Um, my recollection of the discussion about compliance with the Riverfront Crossings' code at the Committee meeting was... we are talking about a conceptual thing at this point. Um, the review that Karen did, just a brief review of the proposals, my recollection is none of `em completely complied with the Riverfront Crossings' code, and there're going to be issues with all of them that we'd have to deal with. Davidson/ Right. Once you select a preferred developer, that's when we will start focusing on an actual building... that would need to comply with the Riverfront Crossings' code. Throgmorton/ Yeah, and if I could, my question really was about the interaction of the form - based code's density bonuses, and financial incentives for any of the projects that we move forward with. I ... I don't think it's irrelevant to the choice that we have before us. Hayek/ All right. Well apropos your comment about how many we bring. I mean, I ... I think we need to narrow it down. That's the purpose the Committee was tasked with. Dickens/ Well I know we picked ... they picked three originally. One of `em has ... somewhat financial things but they may be cleaned up. Hayek/ Yeah. Dickens/ So su ... suddenly you're down to maybe two viable, one maybe. I don't know whether you go with four, just because of the one having some issues that ... that may be cleaned up by the time they come for a proposal. Hayek/ Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 16 Dobyns/ Are you thinking of a fourth, Terry? Anything in mind or... Hayek/ I mean I certainly wouldn't go more than four. Dickens/ No! No, I wasn't thinking six, but I think adding one just because there's one that... possibly financially was not viable. Botchway/ So which one you talking about? Dickens/ I'm looking at, uh... Mims/ From the Committee's scoring, the ... the fourth one would have been Millennium. Millennium. Throgmorton/ Well I can say, I ... I did not sit in on the Committee meetings, right, and I haven't seen any minutes cause, you know, there weren't any minutes kept and all that. Uh, I read the proposals as carefully as I can, and ... in my judgment we should move ahead with at least... advance with C.A. Ventures, with the Court-Linn Lofts, uh, senior housing proposal, and with Millennium, and ... and mainly because I think it...it would be most helpful for us and for the public, uh, to see that we ... that we're really considering the full range of...of possible actions and possible consequences that we have before us. In ... in other words, the real choice we have before us, which is really about encouraging a particular kind of development there ... or settling for student housing that might be better ...better development (mumbled) a lot of student housing, uh, and generating a huge amount of revenue. I mean, that's a huge choice we have before us. Dickens/ There's other sites that are being looked at for student housing, not that the City... that we don't own. The City doesn't own. Because I've had people come to me and talk about bringing something forward for that. So there is other... there's a lot of interest out there for other student housing. Throgmorton/ Yeah. Payne/ And, Susan, didn't you make the comment about, um, the two Court-Linn ones that they hadn't done a project of this magnitude before, so that's ... that played into your recommendation also? Mims/ It did. It did. Dobyns/ Well I think that's a serious deficiency, and I want to shoot myself for suggesting and agreeing with Terry that four may be the way to go. Um ... make for a long night, but you know this is the first really major development consideration in an exciting new area of the city, Riverfront Crossing, and I guess I'd like to see ... I'm not really excited about listening to multiple hours of discussion, but I'd like to see a more robust range of options. Um, it kind of helps guide me. Um, and I agree, Jim, I like the senior, um, option with the Li ... the Loft. You know, recognizing... everyone's gotta have their first This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 17 big building somewhere. Um, and I recognize that it is a deficiency, but, um, I think to bring them in would be encouraging, maybe for a scaled -down, lower -gap sort of option in the future, elsewhere in Riverfront Crossings. Um, and I guess I'd like to bring them in for ... be encouraging, to kind of help us listen to different options, to help guide us and perhaps guide them on what we would like to see maybe in the future if they're ultimately not prioritized, um, at the top. That's what I'm thinkin'. Hayek/ Well I've got a co ... couple of comments. One would be, and this kind of goes back to Jim's comment, I mean ... I mean we can talk about what we'd like to see on a particular site but given the options before us, that's a potentially $25 million swing. Um ... uh, which I think is relevant to the conversation. I also think it's relevant to the conversation what is surrounding the ... the site in question, um, which as far as I can tell is largely student to begin with, and that may inform how we look at that, visa vie the balance of Riverfront Crossings where there may be other opportunities for a more mix of housing. That ... that sort of thing. But primarily I, you now, I counted up the list of participants on this Committee that we charged with looking at these six applicants. There were 13 people on it, all of whom have, uh, they're either elected or have considerable experience, uh, and expertise, um, in a variety of areas that are relevant to, uh, to ... to a selection process like this, and I would ... I would be disinclined to not go with their recommendations, personally. Uh, I can see an argument for maybe adding a fourth. Dickens/ I would go with the three originals and add one. Botchway/ So, with those two in mind, I would actually agree. Were you talking about Linn - Court Lofts? Dickens/ Yes, the... Botchway/ I would want that as a fourth. Just to ... cause I would want it to go through ... I mean, we talked about during the Committee discussion and I've been, you know, it was some good discussion. I think my mind had been changed about, you know, uh, my score as far as I was concerned but ... urn ... if this means that they then begin discussions a little more, um, intricately regarding the proposal and what they're going to put forth more than a concept, I'd like to see it! As a fourth proposal. Hayek/ Where did that one end up on the... Mims/ In the bottom two. The ... the experian ... the actual development experience, two of the projects, the first two projects that they shared as their experience were two -story buildings in Kolona. Um... Throgmorton/ There's a development team associated (both talking) Davidson/ It was ranked fifth ... fifth, Matt, by the internal review committee. Hayek/ Fifth? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 18 Davidson/ It was ranked fifth. Mims/ Most of the bigger projects, uh, were designed by Rohrbach's, but in terms of the actual development experience, um, I think was of concern. Dilkes/ Make sure you're distinguishing between Court-Linn Terrace and Linn -Court Lofts. Mims/ Yeah, we're talking about Lofts. Dilkes/ Okay. Mims/ I am. Dilkes/ Loft's is fifth. Throgmorton/ I ... I'd like to bring up a related point. I think it's most directly related to what Matt said, and I think ... what you said, Matt, makes complete sense. I'm not ... not disagreeing with it, but what ... what, uh, what I'm aware of is to the best of my knowledge, we did not see the RFP before it went out. To the best of my knowledge, and I read stuff and forget that I've read it so maybe we did. Uh, but also to the best of my knowledge, we had ... we played no role in determining how to weight the criteria, uh, so you know there's five points for this, 20 points for this, 25 points for this and so on. I would have weighted them differently. (laughs) So I ... I ... like, uh, wanted the fifth is, uh, how project further IC, Iowa City's economic development and Riverfront Crossings' goals. I would have weighted that more heavily. All right? So all I'm getting to is that when I look at these proposals, I weight the things differently, I think, than the Committee was, uh, with, you know, the text in front of `em and everything, and I'm applying my own... basically political judgment about ... about that, uh, so I ... if...if we're gonna stick with the original three, I would very strongly urge us to include the (laughs) which one is it (both talking) Dickens/ Lofts. Throgmorton/ The Lofts proposal, as well, so that we can really see what's at stake. Payne/ I don't ... I don't have an issue with adding one and doing four, I mean, but I ... I agree with Matt that, you know, that's why we had the committee to come up, you know, with some recommendations, review all of the projects. My ... I mean as far as the weighting goes, at least the weighting was used the same amongst everybody by ... for all the projects, so... Throgmorton/ Yeah, I think that's true. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 19 Payne/ ... at least it was consistent, whether we would agree with how they did it or not. Um, conceivably, even if you gave that one item more points, there ... the spread could have still been the same. Throgmorton/ Could be. Botchway/ Well and ... I mean, you know, when we're talking about the political, uh, aspect of this, as well, and I think a lot of that has led to me as far as wanting to see the Linn -Court Loft, as well. I mean, part of the ... our four that we might pick. Um, but it's just ... it is ironic to a certain extent and um, you know, we have proposals here that would literally pay for themselves. I mean, we'd have to do nothing, um, but there could be some possible criticism because we didn't consider the other proposals that would be asking for TIF. Um, and it ... to me it just seems like a ... a... Payne/ No win! Botchway/ Yeah! A non win situation (laughter) because you go for this and, you know, you see it as, you know, what it is and I liked the proposal. They're paying a lot of money for it. Um, but the other proposals, you know, requested a ... a good amount of TIF, and it ... it's almost, the argu ... I mean you could ... you could make arguments either way, and you could never win. That's where I ... going back to the rubric part of it, as well, you know ... yeah, I mean, I could have ... when we did our initial thoughts on the things, my... the way I weighted things were totally different. I took the rubric and weighted them the way I wanted to, but then again, you know, um, somebody could then argue and say, well, Kingsley, why did you not wait, you know, the ones that gave, you know, the most money, as higher for the simple fact that, you know, from a political standpoint, Iowa City has received a lot of heat about, you know, TIF. So it ... I mean, it's just one of those things where I think it's a balancing act, but I ... I just ... for the, for what the rubric was, I think it was a good tool, um, to guide the discussion, at least from my standpoint. I think again, from my standpoint as well, I didn't necessarily feel too inclined with, um, some of the, you know, scores that were associated with particular points, simply because ... (laughs) my ... my scores were well off some of the other Committee Members. So ... and these are Committee Members that (laughs) had a lot of experience doing this particular thing. Hayek/ Well, is there a consensus that at least wants to bring forward the three that were recommended? Payne/ Yes. Mims/ Yeah. Dickens/ Sure! Botchway/ Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 20 Dickens/ Plus one! Hayek/ I'm gettin' to that but (several talking) I want to at least (laughter) uh ... establish that, and Jim, it sounds like you would disagree with that, but... Throgmorton/ I would, but I hear a consensus. Hayek/ Yeah. Okay. So ... is ... yeah. Is there a majority that want a fourth? Throgmorton/ I do! Dickens/ I think there was four of us. (several responding) Hayek/ Okay. Um ... so let's talk about the fourth. Throgmorton/ (several talking) The Loft. Dickens/ The Loft. (several responding) Hayek/ How, uh, how far behind the fourth place finish was the fifth place finish? Mims/ A lot. Davidson/ Let's see ... uh, the fourth place rank had 39 points. Uh ... the ... the range was from 21 to 61, uh, low score being most favorable. Uh, the fourth place, uh, proposal had 39 and the fifth place proposal had 45. Hayek/ Yeah, that's ... I mean it's hard to understand scale. Dobyns/ (both talking) ...to test the method, Matt, you know? Hayek/ Yep! Dobyns/ Bring `em in and... Dickens/ Work `em over! Payne/ I mean if ..we'll figure out right away if their, you know, experience is an issue, I think. But (several talking) I think going ... I think going to say that we did listen to an option that was... senior housing goes a long way. Dickens/ But what is the fair market value, you know, they put that down for their (laughter and several talking) Payne / An appraisal! (laughs) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 21 Dickens/ Is that... Mims/ Yeah, they had no ... they had no estimated la ... price for the land. Throgmorton/ I don't know (both talking) Hayek/ Well it's probably around $4.5 or $5, based on (several talking and laughing) Dobyns/ If they need experience, let's give `em experience! (laughs) Hayek/ Are there already four who want the Lofts as the... (several talking) Okay! All right. Davidson/ The one final thing, and I guess I'll let ... I'll let you and I'll turn to the City Manager's office is ultimately we want to select a preferred developer. So on the 17th you're gonna hear four proposals. We then need to schedule some time for you to determine of those four, who the preferred developer is. Uh, Geoff tells me that the work session the next day ... be kind of nice to do it the next day, where everything was fresh in your ... in your head, but Geoff says that work session is pretty well booked up. So ... that would leave either a special meeting or two weeks later. Geoff says that work session, two weeks later, is not booked up. Payne/ That'd be like December something. (several responding) Hayek/ Yeah, when are you looking to us for a decision on the four? Dickens/ 2016. (laughter) Davidson/ Well there's some danger in waiting too long. Hayek/ Right. Mims/ Yeah! Hayek/ I mean, is it the evening of the 17th? Is it... Davidson/ Well Michelle had an issue with that, cause you thought you might just be available telephonically or... Payne/ It won't even be that! Davidson/ Maybe even ... not even, okay. Payne/ I might have to go to Springfield for a meeting, so... Davidson/ But you were going to watch a video replay or something? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 22 Payne/ If it gets ... yes. Hayek/ So are we then talking about just hearing the presentations on the 17th and not deciding? (several responding) Okay. Payne/ I actually think it's better to kind of mull it over. Davidson/ Well with four it's ... we're hoping to do these in hour ... in hour slots, so you're committing to 5:00 to 9:00 already. Hayek/ They don't have to be an hour. Davidson/ Pretty long meeting (several talking and laughing) Markus/ Marian, what's the first meeting in December? Karr/ December 2nd would be your normal, regular work session/formal combo. Markus/ And we could put the decision on at that time. Karr/ You could put the decision on the work session. You could have a ... a blank bookmark option at the formal, and at that time you could decide to fill it in or ... yeah. You could do it. Markus/ I don't think that slows the process any, and I ... that ... that gives you some time to mull it over. Davidson/ Okay, so two weeks later, or two weeks and a day? Karr/ So December 2nd for both work session and formal. Botchway/ I think it is but... (several talking) but the week after is Thanksgiving. And then that week we also have the MPO meeting. I think. Payne/ Yep! Markus/ Three in a row. Payne/ Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Dickens/ You know what turkey does to your brain! (laughter) Payne/ Mush! (laughter) That's why I don't eat it! Botchway/ Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 23 Throgmorton/ So, I ... I, at the risk of jumping ahead too quickly here, I ... am I right in understanding that with regard to each of the four remaining developments, proposals, um, we ... have ... the liberty, uh, to kind of indicate ways in which we think the proposal could be improved. Markus/ Yes. Throgmorton/ I'll give you an example. With regard to C.A. Ventures, when I first looked at the, I don't know, renderings or whatever one calls `em, I went "Ahhh!" (makes loud noise) So... Davidson/ C.A. Ventures was the one, Jim, that was kind of just a massing study. I don't believe any of those were intended to be architecture (both talking) Throgmorton/ Yeah, I ... I quickly concluded that. Um ... nonetheless, I had a very sharp, guttural kind of reaction when I first saw it. So, and likewise with regard to the streetscape with, uh, for many ... well, I don't know which ones of these projects. For ... for some of them I thought, oh no, these really need to be improved a lot at the street level. And so on! So, I assume we will... Davidson/ I certainly want you to make those comments, yes! Um, the way I kind of envisioned this would be 20 or 25 minutes for the proposal, 20 minutes for Q &A between Council and the proposers —just Council and the proposers. Uh, and then, you know, five or 10 minutes to change ... change out. So is that sound reasonable, and we will (laughs) I assure you we'll be deluged by people wanting a certain order. I want to be first, I want to be last. So we will draw those out of a hat! Throgmorton/ Good idea! Davidson/ So that the ... it's taken care of! Hayek/ So we'll start at... Mims/ 5:00! Hayek/ ....5:00 on November 17th ... we're going to try to keep these to 45 minutes apiece. Davidson/ 50 minutes, yeah. Hayek/ Um (several talking and laughing) yeah, I've seen this group! (laughter) The conversational equivalent to mission creep! Um... Davidson/ If you want shorter... Hayek/ We can ... we can work that (both talking) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 24 Davidson/ ...let me know and I'll tell `em shorter. It's whatever you want! Hayek/ I mean, I... shorter will end up invariably longer no matter what number you give them. So I'd ... I'd push `em for shorter. (several talking) Personally. Davidson/ We ... we will have a time keeper to ... to (several talking) cut `em off at...at 20 or 25 minutes because we do want to stay on schedule. Hayek/ Yeah. Let's ... let's do that. Davidson/ Okay. Hayek/ That should be ample time. Botchway/ And more time for Q &A? Davidson/ Well we'll try and leave 20 or 25 minutes for Q &A? Do you think that's enough? Botchway/ That's fine. Yeah, I mean I'm just saying ... and then 15 for ... or 10, for the proposals? Davidson/ Well let's do 15 for the proposals. Botchway/ Okay. My only question was, are we going to have something to read, I mean, obviously they're going to go back and, I mean... Davidson/ You have copies of all the proposals electronically, and by the way, we did everything electronically. We didn't get big boxes of... so I can't hand you a hard copy proposal (both talking) Botchway/ No, that's true, but to ... to Jim's point, one of the things that, you know, and I think Eleanor said it as well. These were very, you know, conceptual ideas, and so they're going to go back and presumably come with something a little more focused. Markus/ No! (several responding) Davidson/ Now they may present, I would expect them to present... Hayek/ Yeah! Davidson/ ...more information than is in the proposal about their companies and that, but you ... I don't believe will receive anything ahead of time. Dickens/ Marian, can you resend the propos ... when we get it down to the four, just send (both talking) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 25 Karr/ I can include it in that meeting packet with those four, uh huh. Throgmorton/ They're all in the drop -box still, aren't they? rM"N fZn Throgmorton/ Thought they were. But... Karr/ I need to archive `em anyway, so I want to be sure they're the same four you're looking at, so it'll be fine. Hayek/ Okay, so we'll have that meeting on the 17th, and given what's on the Council's schedule and Thanksgiving, it's not realistic to get to it before beginning of Sept ... uh, December. Davidson/ So is that the 2 °d, Marian (both talking) Karr/ Yes. Davidson/ The work session on the 2 °d. Karr/ Yes. Davidson/ That's what we'll plan... Karr/ So there'll be the packet going out before turkey day. Botchway/ Read up! Dobyns/ Jeff, I had a question. Payne/ Wait, wait a minute (several talking) Terry, did you ask for the stuff before the 17th meeting or the 2nd Karr/ ...you want `em before the 171h and December 2 °d both? Or just the 17th? Dickens/ Well I ... yeah, before the 17tH Karr/ Oh yes, that'll be fine. Sure. Dickens/ If we can have it like... Karr/ Sure. We've got `em. We'll just ... we'll just move `em into the next folder. Sure. Dickens/ Like the 13th would be great to have `em for the weekend to read through. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014. November 6, 2014 Iowa City City Council Special Work Session Page 26 Davidson/ The other thing that wouldn't surprise me is if they have handouts for all of you when they come. Dobyns/ Jeff, why are the primarily student housing, uh, willing to pay for the property and the other aren't, and (both talking) Davidson/ Student housing is probably the healthiest housing market in the nation right now. It's extraordinary, and banks are anxious to finance student housing projects. Dobyns/ So it's a sure thing. Davidson/ Especially in places like the University of Iowa that have announced the intent to increase enrollment, and have very low vacancy rates. Combination of factors makes us an extremely lucrative market. Dilkes/ I ... I would note too that ... that the south downtown subdistrict of Riverfront Crossings is one of the three subdistricts where the plan provides for student housing to be located. Markus/ I think one thing that wasn't mentioned this evening ... in the deliberations, when we talked about the amount that people would pay for the property, the lack of TIF, the tax revenue, one of the things we talked about is the potential to use those proceeds to reinvest in the River Crossings' district. I think that was a ... kind of a compelling argument to a lot of us. Davidson/ Yes we do have trails we want to put along Ralston Creek and a park we want to build in the old waste water treatment plant site. We have a lot of public infrastructure projects that could be funded through the proceeds and... and TIF. Markus/ There's spin -off benefit. Hayek/ Okay. All right, so I think we've done our duty tonight, and I want to thank the Members of the Committee for a lot of work and deliberation, and I look forward to the 17th! So thank you, everyone! Davidson/ Thanks, everyone. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session of November 6, 2014.