HomeMy WebLinkAboutA048 - Council Action Form dated August 25, 2015 ITEM # 35
DATE: 08-25-15
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: URBAN REVITALIZATION TAX ABATEMENT REQUEST FOR 2300
LINCOLN WAY (THE FOUNDRY MIXED USE PROJECT)
BACKGROUND:
In accordance with Chapter 404 of the Code of Iowa, the City Council has established
Urban Revitalization Areas (URAs) with Plans specifying standards for types and
elements of physical improvements that provide public benefits. When property within
one of these URAs is developed, redeveloped, rehabilitated, or remodeled, the property
owner is eligible for abatement of property taxes on the incremental increase in property
value after the improvements are completed. This abatement can extend for three, five
or ten years, based on the individual Urban Revitalization Plan approved by Council.
Property owners within an approved URA may apply for tax exemption for a complete
project or preapproval for project that is planned to be built. The City must determine if
the completed improvements meet the standards in the Urban Revitalization Plan
in order to grant tax abatement and forward the determination to the Assessor. If
the project complies with the criteria, it must be approved for tax abatement.
Opus Development Company, LLC, Minnetonka, Minnesota, is requesting
approval of tax abatement for the property located at 2300 Lincoln Way, on which
a residential/commercial mixed use project has been constructed in the
Campustown Urban Revitalization Area. The new development (known as "The
Foundry"), includes 53 apartments (144 beds), 53 parking spaces within the
footprint of the building, and 7,466 gross square feet of commercial floor area.
The estimated cost for this project totals $10,500,000. The estimate is based on
construction cost or sales price provided by the property owner and may not be the
same as the added property value upon which the abatement is based. The applicant
indicates they will choose the 10-year abatement option.
The full Campustown URA criteria are found in Attachment B. The project proposed
compliance with the Mixed Use, Design Criteria, and with the mandatory public safety
elements. Staff from the Police Department and Planning and Housing Department
have completed a site inspection of the building as part of this request for tax
abatement. Staff has found the project to comply with standards of the URA with three
comments on project consistency.
The owner previously sought pre-approval of an alternative screened window design in
place of doing fixed windows along Lincoln Way. Council approved this option on
August 12, 2014. However, the applicant did not decide to build screened windows and
chose to instead use fixed windows consistent with the criteria.
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The public safety standards include dimensions of spaces for hallways, doors, and
stairs that exceed building code requirements. These standards are meant to provide
enhanced means of egress in an emergency. With the staff walk through, we
found some of the railings in stairwells were between 59" to 59.5" apart where the
standard is 60 inches. Opus states the shortage of width was not intentional as it
was not uniformly done in all areas of the stairs. Opus believes the 1/2 inch of
variation is within normal construction tolerances and meets the spirit of the
standard. The Police Department believes that overall, the stairwell railing width
it is adequate and meets the intent of the regulation. If Council does not find that
the railing width is adequate, Opus would need to consider installation of an alternative
railing system that meets building code and the tax abatement criteria to receive
abatement.
One design criteria involves signage goals for a building. This standard does not define
how to achieve the requirements. Staff has worked with individual signage requests by
tenants in an effort to have a uniform approach to the building signage, but not all signs
are in place at this time. Council has approved an encroachment permit for a blade sign
related to Starbucks at this site. Staff has approached signage requests as trying to
assure there is reasonable placement and uniformity in style of signage and that
this meets the intent of the tax abatement criteria.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. The City Council can approve the request for approval of tax exemption for the
mixed use project located at 2300 Lincoln Way, if it finds that it substantially
conforms to the Campustown Urban Revitalization Area Criteria, as adopted by
the City Council.
2. The City Council can deny the request for approval of tax exemption for the mixed
use project located at 2300 Lincoln Way, if it finds that the improvements are not
in conformance with the Campustown Urban Revitalization Area Criteria, as
adopted by the City Council. If denied, the applicant may make modifications to
the project to meet the criteria and submit a new request for tax abatement.
MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Staff has completed an on-site inspection of the improvements constructed, and
finds that the work completed conforms to the Campustown Urban Revitalization
Area Criteria. This finding is based on the Police Department's belief that the
discrepancy in stairwell railing separation is de minimus.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council accept
Alternative #1, thereby approving the request for tax exemption as conforming to the
Campustown Urban Revitalization Criteria.
Approval of the request for tax exemption will enable the City Assessor to process tax
exemption for this property and determine the value of the respective exemption. Be
careful that you allows signs in ROW, often underlying property of others.
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Attachment A
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Attachment B
Campustown Urban Revitalization Criteria
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