Loading...
HRAM 09/06/2018 CITY OF FRIDLEY HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY COMMISSION September 6, 2018 Chairperson Pro Tem Eggert called the Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: William Holm Stephen Eggert Kyle Mulrooney Gordon Backlund MEMBERS ABSENT: Pat Gabel OTHERS PRESENT: Paul Bolin, HRA Assistant Executive Director Wally Wysopal, City Manager Jim Casserly, Development Consultant Vickie Johnson, Development Consultant Action Items: 1.Approval of Expenditures MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the expenditures. Seconded by Commissioner Mulrooney. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON PRO TEM EGGERT DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 2.Approval of August 2, 2018 Meeting Minutes MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve the minutes as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Backlund. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON PRO TEM EGGERT DECLARED THE MINUTES APPROVED 3.Approval of 2018 Levy Paul Bolin , HRA Assistant Executive Director, stated that the levy amount statutes allow .0185% of estimated market value. The 2019 levy is $517,805 and the impact on a $150,000 is $28 a year. $208,000 is the current average value of a home in Fridley. A business will pay $185 per $1.0M in value. Staff recommends approval of consenting to the HRA tax levy to provide HRA the ability to fund ongoing and future redevelopment and home improvement efforts. Council will act on this on September 10, 2018 and the levy will be certified and delivered to the County by September 14, 2018. Housing and Redevelopment Authority Meeting of September 6, 2018 2 Chairperson Pro Tem Eggert thought that .0185% has been consistent for a number of years. Mr. Bolin replied that there was an increase 10-11 years ago and it was slightly lower before that. Commissioner Holm noted that the levy goes a longways to improving values in Fridley and increasing total revenue. It is well worth the money and home owners benefit from this through increased revenue and environment within the city. MOTION by Commissioner Backlund to approve the 2018 Levy Amounts. Seconded by Commissioner Mulrooney. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON PRO TEM EGGERT DELCARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 4.Approval Phase 2 Builder for Locke Park Pointe Paul Bolin , HRA Executive Assistant Director, stated that over the past two years, HRA and City Staff have met with more than a dozen builders/developers. Three of the groups, Pulte, Centra Homes and Lennar, seemed most capable to help create housing that is marketable in the community and complementary to the new Municipal Campus. Early this spring Council and HRA reviewed a proposal from the Pulte Group. The consensus of the group was that the proposal lacked green space, that the homes created a canyon-like effect and that there was an excessive use of colors on the buildings. The lack of enthusiasm for the Pulte product led to staff meeting with additional builders. th Mr. Bolin said that during the June 18 Council and HRA work session, Centra Homes and Lennar were given an opportunity to share their vision and housing products for the site. Centra, a smaller builder, had a less defined vision and stressed their ability to be flexible in delivering the City’s vision. Lennar had a more detailed plan and specific products that they would build on site. The presentations created more questions than they answered. It was decided that a list of specific questions would be provided to Pulte, Lennar and Centra. Each group was given until the end of July to provide answers to questions, updated site layouts and elevations/pictures of how the products could look from across the pond. Mr. Bolin said that both Pulte and Lennar provided that additional information requested. Centra Homes chose to withdraw from the process. Staff was disappointed with Pulte’s updated proposal. While they did reduce the density of the Phase 2 area, from 88 to 51 units, they did not provide any vision for the remaining area of the site. Architecturally, the only real difference from their original proposal was to remove a story from the buildings. They did not address the concerns over the excessive use of colors and they intend only to use one townhome design for this project. Staff was pleased with Lennar’s updated proposal. Lennar proposed two townhome products, totaling 72 units, including the former Public Works site. The Lennar products uses mixes of materials and architectural features to provide interest and variety to their designs. Buildings are finished in specific color patterns to provide a uniform appearance to the development. The buildings are finished with DP siding, rather than vinyl. Housing and Redevelopment Authority Meeting of September 6, 2018 3 Mr. Bolin stated that the Lennar group seemed most qualified to deliver a product that will be timeless and complementary to how the new Municipal Center. If staff is authorized to begin negotiating a redevelopment contract with Lennar, we will work with them to further refine the public spaces on their development site. All Fridley residents and visitors should feel like they are a “City” trail when traversin the site. Their proposed site plan, showing a separation between the homes and trail of 24’-60’ is a good starting point. Mr. Bolin noted that because of Pulte’s disappointing submittal, staff determined that they are not a need to hold on a joint (HRA/City Council) meeting to hear from both developers. Staff gave an informational update to the City Council on August 27, to share the Lennar proposal with them and receive their feedback on the proposal. There was concurrence that Lennar is the group to work with on the private development. Comments centered on keeping public ownership of the waterfront trail and the park/vacant land just west of the proposed development. Staff recommends that the Authority approve a motion authorizing staff to negotiate a development agreement with Lennar for the remainder of the land available for private housing development. Commissioner Holm asked if there was one homeowners association for the entire development. Steve Ach, Lennar, replied that there could be different association dues. The park and trail are for public use and there will be an enhancement to define the edge between the public and private space. There will be a sense of separation that will be inviting for everyone. Commissioner Backlund asked about parking and where it would be located. Mr. Bolin replied that there would be some limited parking on Locke Parkway. Mr. Ach added that there will be guest parking spaces on site. The driveways are 22’ long with two car garages so 4 cars could park on the driveway. Chairperson Pro Tem Eggert asked what the view would be looking from the trails to the townhomes. Mr. Ach replied that the landscaping would not block the buildings but add dimension and texture to soften the buildings. It will be pleasing to the public eye. The buildings will have stonework on the front with hardboard siding. There will be a few different color selections and a fence will be around the patios. Chairperson Pro Tem Eggert thought that the price points with different concepts offers a lot of options for people to select from. Mr. Ach said that there are a lot of different features. They will survey the customers to find out what is important to them. Chairperson Pro Tem Eggert asked about the timeline and schedule. Housing and Redevelopment Authority Meeting of September 6, 2018 4 Mr. Ach replied that they will start to negotiate the contract then the due diligence process. Construction would be scheduled to start first thing this spring. Mr. Bolin added that the parkway will be installed as the first road this fall to help compact soil during winter and finish paving in the spring. Mr. Ach said that will be helpful as they want to start model building on the west side. This would allow access to the site to start construction. Mr. Bolin replied that there would be access to the west and the gravel will compacted and usable for construction. Mr. Ach added that the goal is to have models ready in the fall of 2019. The development will take 2 ½ to 3 years to complete. MOTION by Commissioner Holm to approve Lennar as the Phase two builder for Locke Park Pointe. Seconded by Commissioner Mulrooney. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON PRO TEM EGGERT DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY Informational Items: 1.Housing Programs Update Paul Bolin , HRA Executive Assistant Director, reported that one loan was closed in August making eight year to date. This number should go up later this month as they roll out the senior deferred loan product. The remodel advisor had five visits in August making 12 year to date. The home energy squad had three visits in August making a total of 36 year to date. Adjournment: MOTION by Commissioner Backlund to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Mulrooney. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON PRO TEM EGGERT DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:38 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Krista Peterson Recording Secretary