City of Santa Fe issued the following announcement on Apr. 15.
A Midtown District Special Meeting with the Governing Body that was tentatively scheduled for Monday, April 13 was postponed and rescheduled for May 4, 2020. The purpose of the meeting is for the Governing Body to vote on whether to enter into an agreement with the Midtown Evaluation Committee’s recommended master developer finalist, a recommendation based on a unanimous decision after an extensive competitive sealed solicitation process.
The Special Meeting on May 4 provides the public an opportunity to learn more about the recommended master development team, as they present their general approach, experience, and capacity to create and implement a development plan for Midtown through a collaborative process with the City and Santa Fe communities. The public is invited to submit questions prior to May 4 that will be answered at the Special Meeting. The City has created a Midtown District Santa Fe email address where the public may submit questions in advance of the meeting: <strong>info@midtowndistrictsantafe.com</strong>
The vote on May 4 is not to approve a development proposal or a master plan. The vote is to approve the Evaluation Committee's recommendation and enter into the Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with the master developer finalist. This will launch the a collaborative process with the City, developer, and communities to explore the possibilities offered by the recommended development team – a process necessary for establishing a sustainable public private partnership. The ENA is needed to create the doorway through which the development team is able to undertake site investigations, economic analysis, and land use planning, and for the City to commence negotiations for a disposition and development agreement. It will also launch the next phase of the public engagement process to learn more about community aspirations and priorities that will continue to inform a the development plan for Midtown. An outcome of the ENA period, which could take around 12 months, is to create a master plan that is approved by the Governing Body.
“We have a lot of City resources and attention going to the COVID-19 outbreak and providing support to our community right now, so we’ve had some delays,” says Rich Brown, director of the Santa Fe Office of Economic Development. “It’s important that we keep the Midtown District project moving forward on its tracks, and that City government acts responsibly to ensure that critical projects like these—projects that have the potential to create jobs, strengthen our current business community, and achieve community and economic development objectives—are in place as we go into recovery mode after this health crisis.”
“The reason the Special Meeting was rescheduled to May 4 was to provide additional time for the City and the developer to ensure that the ENA included the responsibilities and tasks the parties will assume during the ENA period,” said Daniel Hernandez, the City’s redevelopment project manager. “Creating a triple-bottom line development plan – environment, equity, economy – requires a deep dive into undertaking site investigations, engaging the public in refining community development objectives, and doing land use and infrastructure planning, all of which will inform the development plan that will be memorialized in a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA), for approval by the Governing Body. That DDA will takes months to fine tune; the ENA period may last up to a year.”
“Over the past year or more, the City set in motion a this process let us find the right to identify a developer to be a qualified private partner, who also shared our values and aspirations for Midtown,” said City Manager Jarel LaPan Hill. “The criteria used in the competitive solicitation were outlined by the public and City Council beginning with the Midtown Planning Guidelines and again in the RFEI, and they serve as our roadmap. Recognizing that this early planning work in 2018 set the basic foundation for the vision and land uses at Midtown, the ENA period now allows for an extended public engagement period to further inform a development plan for Midtown, while the developer is also performing standard real estate site investigations and analysis.”
“The competitive sealed proposals process used to make the unanimous recommendation is a best practice deployed by local governments around the country, and we are proud of the efforts our City Council and City staff have taken to maintain the integrity of this transparent and open process,” said Jarel Lapan Hill, City Manager.
A new date for the Special Meeting has been set for Monday, May 4, and the City is sharing information about how community members can access and participate in the virtual event. In advance of the meeting, please submit questions to the Midtown District Santa Fe email address: info@midtowndistrictsantafe.com. The public may continue to submit questions after the meeting. The City will continue to update the Midtown District Santa Fe website, where the City will post FAQs on a regular basis.
Visit http://www.midtowndistrictsantafe.com and sign up for email updates to receive important Midtown District news and events.
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