Subject:
Title
Confirm Approach to Selecting the Town’s Preferred Development Partner for the I-25 Erie Gateway Site
Body
Department: Economic Development
Presenters: Julian Jacquin, Economic Development Director
Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator
Time Estimate: 5 minutes
only required for non-consent items
Staff Recommendation:
Recommendation
Confirm the Board’s intent to use the Ranked Choice Vote approach and the timeline to select the Town’s preferred development partner for the I-25 Erie Gateway site.
End
Summary and Background of Subject Matter:
The Town received eight (8) responses to the I-25 Erie Gateway Request for Qualifications (RFQ), and our internal review team of Town staff and Jon Lee/CDG unanimously selected the top four (4) candidates to interview with the Board of Trustees. These 4 groups all confirmed their attendance for a 30-minute interview at on February 15, beginning at 6:30 PM, each with a 20-minute presentation and 10 minutes for Q&A. This meeting can be either a Study Session or a Special Meeting, depending on whether the Board wants to select a firm that night or make the selection at a later date.
The four groups presenting on February 15 are scheduled as follows (in order of staff ranking):
|
Time |
Group |
Representative |
|
6:30 PM |
1. McWhinney |
Peter Lauener, Trae Rigby |
|
7:00 PM |
2. Hines |
Chad Murphy |
|
7:30 PM |
3. Evergreen Devco |
Tyler Carlson, Erika Shorter |
|
8:00 PM |
4. MVE/Lake Union Partners |
Newton Breiter |
Staff provided to the Board the responses submitted by these 4 groups.
Staff will compile questions from the internal review team to provide some talking points and help direct the conversation and will send the Board those questions the week before this presentation. Staff recommend that on February 15, the Board consider each group’s background, experience and vision for the site and consider which group is the best fit as preferred development partner for the I-25 Erie Gateway site.
Staff wants to confirm is whether the Board wants to use the Ranked Choice Vote method or some other approach to selecting the preferred firm, and whether the Board wants to make that selection at the February 15 meeting or at the March 8 meeting, when staff has originally intended to have the Board vote to pick a preferred developer for the project. In either case, once the Board has selected a preferred firm, staff will then begin negotiating a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the selected developer for that group’s eventual purchase of the Town-owned property, in coordination with Jon Lee/CDG’s efforts at North Station, immediately north of the Town-owned property.
The Town is not obligated to select any developer or enter into any agreement, and the Board can choose to restart or terminate this process at any time. Additionally, staff advised each group who responded that the Board’s selection is not exclusive to the 4 groups picked to interview with the Board, and that we maintain the ability to bring in additional candidates for interviews. Any group not selected as the preferred developer for the entire I-25 Erie Gateway still has countless opportunities to partner for specific commercial, mixed-use, or residential projects within the overall development site.
Board Priority(s) Addressed:
ü Attractive Community Amenities
ü Engaged and Diverse Community
ü Prosperous Economy
ü Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Effective Governance
ü Environmentally Sustainable
ü Fiscally Responsible
Attachment(s):
None.