#1 Direction for transfer of property or construction of parking lot at 121 East Court
CITY MANAGER’S MEMORANDUM
September 8, 2011
TO: Council President Brunner & City Council
FROM: Eric J. Levitt, City Manager
SUBJECT: Direction to City Manager on Possible transfer of property or
construction of parking lot at 121 East Court Street
Summary:
The owners of One Parker Place approached the City about selling the lot at 121
E. Court Street to them for $1 to enable them to build parking at their cost. The
estimated number of spaces would be around 45 spaces. An alternative concept
that was initiated by me and discussed was that the City negotiate a lease
agreement with the owner so that parking could be built on the City’s lot in
combination with their lot.
Background:
The owners of One Parker Place LLP initially approached the current City
Manager in early 2009 about building parking at 121 E. Court Street. At the time
of the request the Council was considering approval of the current parking
structure that was completed in 2010. During the discussions with the owners, it
was the City Manager’s understanding from them that the City had discussed
building parking for them when they initially bought One Parker Place, however I
have not found any written commitment from the City to build parking at the time.
In 2009, when the current City Manager was approached, the City Manager
initiated having engineering look at potential design work for a public parking lot
on 121 East Court. The concept design showed that we could place between 15
and 18 spaces at a cost of approximately $75,000. The City Manager did
proposed building the public parking lot in the 2010 budget, but during the Note
Issue discussions, many capital projects were required to be removed due to
fiscal constraints and this was one of those projects.
Due to the City not building the parking lot, One Parker Place LLP has requested
that we sell the lot for $1 so that they can build a private parking lot of
approximately 45 spaces utilizing the 121 East Court lot and the adjacent lots to
the north and west.
Analysis
The current proposal has several issues to be considered.
1. If the City builds parking at 121 East Court Street, whether it be public or
private parking, the General Fund will need to reimburse CDBG for the
value of the land which is estimated to be between $30,000 and $40,000
value.
2. The potential need to remove the parking ramp over the river has been
discussed for many years. The potential to remove in five plus years is a
high probability. If the City were to remove that parking, replacement
public parking would be necessary at the time. The proposal to dedicate
the lot for private parking would eliminate an opportunity to build public
parking. Although it would eliminate some of that parking demand.
3. The City is actively seeking ways to create additional jobs and or retain
private jobs. This proposal helps One Parker Place LLP with their parking
for current and potential businesses.
City Manager Options
Option 1:
The first option available is to move forward with the request from One Parker
Place LLC. The City Manager has concerns with this option based on the fact
that we may need to evaluate all parking alternatives in the future.
Option 2:
A second option would be to build public parking in our lot which would result in
up to 18 additional spaces. This option would be supported by the City Manager
but may be a concern for One Parker Place LLC because tenants may want
dedicated parking to locate there.
Option 3:
A third option that the City Manager has explored is doing a partnership with One
Parker Place LLC, where the City reimburses CDBG the funds and One Parker
Place leases the land and builds the 45 spaces. There could be options for
purchase dependent upon retention or attraction of new tenants. Under this
option, the City Manager’s concept would be to provide that part of the parking is
public and part of the parking is public. The legal details would still need to be
structured.
Staff is looking for City Council on whether to move forward with any of the above
concepts.