AGENDA DATE: 1/16/2019
TITLE:
Title
Development Services Advisor - Final Pre-Marketing Report
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Board Action Item to review and accept the Development Services Advisor’s (Stantec) Final Pre-Marketing Report
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Letteri, Henry, Johnson
PRESENTER (S): Doug Walker
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: Albemarle County was engaged for some time in a thorough analysis and assessment of the County’s future court needs and the best way to meet those needs along with an investigation of the potential to which this project could promote its highest strategic priorities of development, redevelopment and revitalization in the County’s urban areas.
At the December 14, 2016 Board meeting, staff presented a proposed process for moving forward with the exploration of a public-private partnership to relocate the courts and/or County administration to a site in Albemarle County. Stantec Consulting Services was contracted in June 2017 and provided a final report with findings and conclusions to the Board at its December 13, 2017 work session. Stantec consultants presented an initial report on the costs, fiscal impacts, cost benefit analysis and any updates to the previously submitted Program Analysis Documents and Adjacency Study report, along with overall recommendations and a proposal on next steps. The Board received public comment and feedback on the analysis at a public hearing on December 18, 2017 and provided direction to staff at a special meeting on December 20, 2017 that resulted in the initiation of a pre-marketing study by Stantec as a next step to this work. Funding for the pre-marketing study was approved by the Board on February 7, 2018 (see Attachments A and A1).
The Stantec final pre-marketing report is ready and will be presented to the Board at the meeting. Timing of the completion and presentation of the report was adjusted from the original schedule to allow coordination and synchronization with both the resolution of the courts project with the City of Charlottesville and the adoption of the Rio29 Small Area Plan, both of which were accomplished within the past month.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Infrastructure Investment: Prioritize, plan, and invest in critical infrastructure that responds to past and future changes and improves the capacity to serve community needs. Thriving Development Areas: Attract quality employment, commercial, and high density residential uses into development areas by providing services and infrastructure that encourage redevelopment and private investment while protecting the quality of neighborhoods.
DISCUSSION: Stantec’s Final Pre-Marketing Study Report is included as Attachment B, and highlights, findings and recommendations from the report will be presented by the Stantec team during the Board meeting. In addition to the Stantec report and the team’s presentation, County staff would like to offer additional considerations regarding the study and its findings. Since the study was initiated in February, several significant conditions have developed and/or changed that have impacted the report schedule and influenced staff’s reactions to the recommendations, including the following:
• The County and the City have reached a mutually agreeable resolution to the Court issue, removing court relocation as a possible factor in a potential public-private partnership.
• The Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors recently adopted the Rio29 Small Area Plan, providing a more specific template for desired development in that area, and the County has already received development proposals that utilize its guidance.
• The Board of Supervisors has approved Project ENABLE, the County’s first Economic Development Strategic Plan, that identifies priority goals and objectives that will drive policy, staff focus, and resource allocation.
• The School Division launched its Center 1 at the former Comdial building near Rio29.
• The County has recently undertaken public-private partnerships with willing and committed partners to achieve positive outcomes, and several more partnerships are under development. Continued efforts by the County to align staff and funding resources will be critical to maintaining a successful public-private partnership program.
• A conference center study undertaken on behalf of CACVB was provided during the restructuring of the organization and the reconstituted body will deliberate next steps in the coming months.
• The County is actively participating with UVA, PVCC, and the City to develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the community.
• The Board of Supervisors and School Board have directed staff to develop PPEA guidelines for consideration and action.
Based on the above factors, staff offers the following reactions to the Stantec final report:
• The findings and recommendations support the County’s general direction towards public-private partnerships that have emerged since the time the pre-marketing study was initiated, including taking advantage of opportunities when willing and able partners present themselves.
• The findings and recommendations recognize the challenge of initiating a public-private partnership without concrete and defined County involvement, established incentive protocol and some element of site control - all of these issues are among the highest priorities of Project ENABLE.
• The report emphasizes the necessity for the County to build credibility and demonstrate competency in the arena of public-private partnerships - staff believes that improvement in these areas will be a direct outcome of successful involvement in ongoing projects at Woolen Mills, autonomous shuttle pilot testing, etc.
• The findings and recommendations generally support and add value to the work of the Rio29 Small Area Plan and will be integrated into that plan as it moves into the implementation planning stage.
BUDGET IMPACT: The cost of services provided under the contract totaled $56,000.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board receive the Stantec report as written, there is no specific additional action required by the Board at this time. Staff also recommends the following:
• The County should continue to stress that County is open and eager to work with potential partners from the Rio29 area who are ready to engage with partnership opportunities.
• Focus on the successful completion of existing partnerships that are already underway in the economic development sphere.
• The County should focus on implementing the elements of Project ENABLE that will address challenges identified in the report, such as the lack of site control, ready sites, structured incentives processes, etc.
• Economic Development will refer appropriate actionable elements of the final report to Community Development staff for discussion with Planning Commission focusing on recommendations that inform and align with the Rio29 Small Area Plan.
• Staff will prepare and present PPEA guidelines for consideration as directed by the Board of Supervisors and School Board.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: Executive Summary from 02/07/18
Attachment A1: Stantec Pre-Marketing Phase Proposal from 02/07/18 Executive Summary
Attachment B: Stantec Final Pre-Marketing Study Report