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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 03/01/1994MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA MARCH 1, 1994 The Ames City Council met in special session at 5:02 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, 1994, in the Council Chambers in the City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue, pursuant to law with Mayor Curtis presiding and the following Council members present: Campbell, Parks, Tedesco, and Wirth. Council Members Brown and Hoffman arrived late. CORRECTION TO 1973 ALLEY VACATING PROCEDURE: Moved by Parks, seconded by Campbell, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 94-77 authorizing a quit claim deed for the vacating of an alley to Evan Kent Cooper and Joan E. Cooper as titleholders of the abutting properties at 511 South 4th Street and 317 South Walnut and setting a date of public hearing for March 22, 1994, for approval of proposed disposition of property. City Attorney John Klaus reported that an ordinance was passed in 1973 to vacate an alley in the vicinity of South Walnut and South 4th Street, and deeds were issued to the abutting property owners. However, the Council had not enacted a resolution authorizing those deeds. He explained that the resolution needed to be passed at this time in order to correct the vacating procedure. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared carried unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes. REQUEST TO EXTEND DEPOT DEVELOPER'S AGREEMENT: Rick Tollakson, Hubbell Realty Company of Des Moines, Iowa, was present to brief the City Council on the reasoning behind their request for a 90-day extension to the Developer's Agreement on the Depot Project. He stated that they had previously been to Council in late November 1993 asking for a March 1 extension in order to secure sufficient lease commitments. Mr. Tollakson explained that they had successfully leased 10,000 square feet to the Garden Cafe, which would occupy the west stand-alone building. Council Member Brown arrived. Mr. Tollakson reported that Hubbell Realty had to obtain a certain leasing percentage for financing through their lenders, and they needed an extension in order to attain this. He further reported that they were also requesting that an amendment to the Developer's Agreement be made in order to allow them to proceed with the project in phases. The east and west stand- alone buildings would compose the first phase, with the Depot and the addition of the new wings composing the second phase. Mr. Tollakson stressed that in order to meet their commitment to the Garden Cafe, they would have to begin construction on the west building no later than June 1, 1994. Linda Gibbs and Tim Sharp, leasing agents with Hubbell Realty, expressed their continued enthusiasm with the project. They presented an overview of the process they go through in order to lease retail space. Ms. Gibbs stated that it has taken this amount of time to identify approximately 150 national retailers who have indicated strong interest in this specific marketplace. Council Member Hoffman arrived. Tim Sharp stated that the 150 retailers are very serious prospects. He informed those present that although there was keen interest, there was more involved in securing lease arrangements when working off site plans and blueprints. Linda Gibbs explained that the primary problem was selling space to lessors off drawings. City Manager Steve Schainker felt that the 90-day extension was the only option available in order to see construction begin in the spring. He reported that Hubbell Realty made a commitment to the Garden Cafe requiring that the restaurant building be completed by November 1994. When questioned by Council Member Tedesco on what to expect with a phased-in approach to the Depot project, City Manager Schainker stated that Hubbell Realty would commit to Phase I, which would be to complete construction and leasing of the east and west buildings of the development project. However, Hubbell Realty Company would not commit to the completion of the Depot and the wing additions unless they were able to pre-lease 70% of the renovated Depot building. City Manager Schainker explained that the Developer's Agreement could be modified to include disincentives which would increase the likelihood that Hubbell Realty would complete the total project. He clarified that the Council was not being asked at this evening's meeting to approve the phasing of the project, but only to grant them the 90-day extension of time in order to secure more leasing arrangements. Council Member Hoffman expressed her concern over the phasing of the project since the Depot itself was what the Council wanted to renovate. Ms. Gibbs stated that once construction started on the west building, it would have a tremendous impact on the marketability of the remainder of the project. Much discussion was held regarding the phasing-in of the project and the negotiating of disincentives to assure that Hubbell Realty would complete the project. Mr. Tollakson explained that their incentive was to finish the project, however, Hubbell had to pre-lease a certain percentage of space and that was dictated by the market. Ms. Gibbs further explained that because they worked on commission, their salaries were not paid unless they could lease out this project. Both Mr. Sharp and Ms. Gibbs reinforced that the Depot building was very important to this redevelopment project, and that they were looking for a tenant with national credentials for that specific space. Discussion was again held regarding the project phases. Mr. Tollakson indicated that they would be approaching the Council at the end of the 90-day extension time in order to request a phased project. He asked that the Council let Hubbell Realty know at this time if they were not interested in this concept, as they would not go any further with development plans. Council Member Parks stated his uneasiness with a phased project because of the uncertainty of the Depot's future as well as the extended length of time this project has taken with the developer. Mr. Sharp explained that whoever would come in to develop the Depot project would need to spend the same period of time that Hubbell Realty has spent to get the project to the same point. He further explained the slow pace among the retail market during the last six months and how the activity level picked up after the first of the year. Ms. Gibbs noted that the Garden Cafe had signed a lease agreement only within the last 90-day extension period. Moved by Brown, seconded by Wirth, to approve a request from Hubbell Realty granting them a 90-day extension of time for the Depot Development Project. Vote on Motion: 4-2. Voting Aye: Brown, Campbell, Hoffman, Wirth. Voting Nay: Parks, Tedesco. Motion carried. Moved by Wirth, seconded by Brown, to authorize the City Manager to renegotiate certain elements of the Developer's Agreement to ensure that disincentives are included to increase the likelihood that the developer will complete the total Depot Development Project as planned in a timely manner. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. COMMENTS: There were no comments. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. __________________________________ _________________________________________ Jill Ripperger, Acting City Clerk Larry R. Curtis, Mayor