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HomeMy WebLinkAboutITEM III-ACITY OF BUFN WASHINGTON CITY of AUBURN REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST For the Use, Lease or Co-ownership of Property At 111 South Division Street (7815700225), 12 1St Street SW (7815700240), 7815700250, 108 South Division Street (7815700295), 7815700290, 7815700285, 7815700300, 7815700305, 7815700310, 7815700325, 7815700326, and 7815700327 Auburn, Washington 98001 April 2011 City of Auburn Planning and Development Department 25 West Main Street Auburn, Washington 98001 CONTACTS Kevin Snyder, AICP Elizabeth Chamberlain, AICP Planning and Development Director Planning Manager ksnyder(a)auburnwa.gov echamberlain(aauburnwa.gov 253-876-1982 253-931-3092 1 DRAFT INTRODUCTION The City of Auburn is presenting a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to potential developers, tenants, or users of City owned properties (hereafter referred to as the property) located in Downtown Auburn. The property is ideally located within the heart of Downtown Auburn adjacent to the Sounder Transit Station, with views of Mt. Rainier, access to State Route 18, and adjacent to the future South Division Street Promenade. The properties are being marketed for the expressed intent of urban mixed use development to support the continued revitalization of Downtown Auburn. EVALUATION and SELECTION PROCESS This RFEI seeks interested developers and/or tenants to purchase or lease the property and construct an urban-oriented, mixed-use development project. The City will evaluate the responses and potentially coordinate potential developers with tenant responses. Respondents may be contacted if additional information is needed or to determine if a viable consortium of respondents could be formed to better meet the City's redevelopment objective of an urban-oriented, mixed-use development project. All respondents will be informed of their selection status. THE COMMUNITY Auburn is centrally located between Seattle and Tacoma along State 167 with convenient access to the state highways and is located within King and Pierce Counties. With the 2010 census, the City of Auburn has a population of 70,180 and is the 14th largest city in Washington State. Originally incorporated in 1891, the City is known for its small town atmosphere, family friendliness, prized parks and recreation system, and the award winning Auburn School District. Auburn began as a railroad and farming community and during World War II transitioned to a manufacturing community. Regionally, Auburn is part of the 2nd largest warehouse/distribution area along the West Coast and 4th largest in the United States. The City of Auburn has 4,000+ large, medium and small businesses including Boeing's 2 million square foot fabrication plant and Safeway's 1 million square foot warehouse/distribution and refrigeration facility. The City of Auburn also has large facilities for the General Services Administration, Social Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration. Tec U [ Be-, Ilewue Hericon rT - Kcn' ,Auburn Theater, id City of WCF41 LN e, Auburn is home to Emerald Downs, the White River Va the Auburn Symphony, Green River Community CollegE Auburn Municipal Golf Course. THE SITE The redevelopment area consists of 2.38 acres of vacant and underdeveloped land situated along South Division Street. All of the City owned property is vacant with the exception of Parcels 7815700295, 7815700325, and 7815700326. The property lies within the Downtown Auburn, and is zoned Downtown Urban Center (DUC) to facilitate urban mixed-use DRAFT development. Neighboring uses to the site include the Sounder Transit Station, Sunbreak Cafe, the City's new Park Plaza, and underutilized parking structure. The redevelopment area is considered part of the City's historic downtown core and is located next to the City's historic Main Street that is home to a diverse mixture of retail, service and restaurant businesses. The City has an existing master development agreement with Spencer Alpert and proposals will need to integrate with that existing agreement. Within two blocks of the project site are Safeway, Auburn Regional Medical Center, and Auburn Avenue Theater. An existing City owned building on one of the City owned properties is partially occupied by the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce through a standard lease agreement. The City recently completed a remodel of its City Hall Plaza and expanded the plaza to the south creating a large gathering space within Downtown Auburn for events and public open space. Beginning in June 2011, the City will begin construction on the South Division Street Promenade. The South Division Street Promenade project is a 3 block street rebuild including upsizing water, sewer, storm utilities, undergrounding power, incorporating low impact development techniques such as pervious concrete, widening sidewalks, and streetscape elements such as landscaping, benches, street lights, and aesthetic pavement treatments. DRAFT I Future Safety av Photo Downtown Developments DRAFT PURPOSE and OBJECTIVES of the REQUEST for EXPRESSIONS of INTEREST The City is interested in making its properties available for development by interested developers and businesses and organizations. The purpose of the RFE/ is to: Identify interested developers that share the City's vision to develop a realistic mix of retail, hospitality, residential, office, entertainment, or other appropriate urban land uses. The City wishes to encourage development proposals that demonstrate financial feasibility with exceptionally strong design and quality of space that enhance the downtown and its vision for ongoing economic and community development; 2. Identify potential users including but not limited to owner occupied or rental residential units, retailers, service businesses and professional office uses for the property; and 3. Gauge interest in the property and identify those businesses or organizations that may eventually use, co-own, or lease the property. Expand this one; we want to understand the market. Objectives of the RFE/ are: To determine interested and qualified developers that share the City's vision to develop a realistic mix of retail, hospitality, residential, office, entertainment, or other appropriate urban land uses. The City wishes to encourage development proposals that demonstrate financial feasibility with exceptionally strong design and quality of space that enhance the downtown and its vision for ongoing economic and community development; 2. To determine if the proposed users are compatible with the existing Downtown Urban Center zoning and strategic planning documents; 3. To determine if the proposed developers and/or users are economically viable; 4. To expose the redevelopment opportunities in Downtown Auburn to a greater range of local or regional or national or international developers and tenants; and 5. To determine if the proposed developers and/or users will capitalize on the site's visible location and make the best possible use of its adjacencies. Interested parties responding to the RFE/ understand that the information they provide may be used in whole or in part by the City and is considered public record and open to public review. Response to the RFEI does not legally bind the respondent to the City in any way, or the City to the respondent. Submittal Requirements for REQUEST for EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Interested parties are required to organize their qualifications into the following sections. Additional information may be included under separate sections. A. Cover Letter DRAFT B. Information on the Developer C. A Description of Mixed-Use Development and Public/Private Partnership Experience D. The Developer's Preliminary Assessment of Development Strategies E. The Proposed Conceptual Working Relationship with the city F. Exhibits and Attachments Six copies of a submittal to include: A. Cover Letter • A cover letter printed on the respondent's letterhead and signed by a principal of the respondent shall be the first page. B. Information on the Developer • Provide name, address, and e-mail and telephone number of the lead development company. • The developer must identify the Principal and Project Manager assigned to this project. Describe in detail the role and responsibilities of each professional. • Companies should focus on the history of the firm, the relationship to the parent company, the office that would be responsible for this project and the available resources of that office. • The City is particularly interested in the mixed-use redevelopment and public/private partnership experiences, if any, of the responding firm or business and the Principal(s) and Project Manager (s). Respondents shall provide current resumes, including complete educational background, work experiences, and professional affiliations, for the Principal (s) and Project Manager (s). • Developers should provide evidence of their ability to secure commitments from both national and local tenants in past projects. C. A Description of Mixed-Use and Public/Private Partnership Experience • Developers should focus on their experience, financing, designing and development of mixed-use projects. • Describe the last three completed mixed-use developments that may be relevant to this project. Provide photographs and illustrations of completed projects. D. The Proposed Conceptual Working Relationship with the City • The City is invested in the successful outcome of this project from design to operation. Please describe the working relationship your company would have with the City and the community. E. Exhibits and Attachments • Within this section, the respondent may provide any additional information or materials, not suitably included in any other section, that the respondent believes may be helpful to the city in evaluating the respondent's knowledge and/or expertise regarding the proposal(s) submitted. 6 DRAFT Written responses to this RFEI must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. PST on June 15, 2011, mailed to 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA, 98001; Attention: Elizabeth Chamberlain, AICP, Planning Manager or hand delivered to One East Main Street, 2nd floor, Auburn, WA 98001; Attention: Elizabeth Chamberlain, AICP, Planning Manager. Response to this RFE/ may not be submitted to the city via facsimile or email. Parties may contact the City's above contact person prior to the submittal with questions. EVALUATION and SELECTION The City will establish a review panel comprised of qualified persons to review the RFEI submittals. Following the City's evaluation of the responses to the RFEI, each respondent shall receive a written notification from the City apprising such respondent of whether or not the respondent has been selected for inclusion on the City's list of qualified potential developers and/or users to whom a Request for Proposals will be sent. Schedule for Selection The City has established a definitive schedule to advertise, receive, and review responses to this RFEI. The City contemplates selecting respondents to this RFEI to determine its list of qualified potential developers and tenants for its properties in accordance with the following schedule: ➢ Release of this RFEI: April XX, 2011 ➢ Responses to this RFEI Due: June XX, 2011, by 5:00 pm ➢ Evaluations of the RFE/s Completed: anticipated by August XX, 2011 The above schedule is subject to revision by the City at any time without prior notification Following its evaluation of responses, the top-ranked submissions may be asked to develop full development proposals for future submittal to the City. This evaluation process may be amended by the City at anytime. Disclaimers by Auburn The City, in its sole judgment, reserves the right to (1) amend, modify, or withdraw this RFEI , (11) revise any requirements of this RFEI , (111) require supplemental statements or information from any respondent to this RFEI , (IV) accept or reject any or all responses to this RFEI , (V) revise the schedule to advertise, receive, and review responses to this RFEI , (VI) renegotiate or hold discussions with any respondent(s) to this RFEI and allow such respondent(s) to correct deficient responses which may not completely conform to the instructions contained herein, or immediately eliminate responses which are incomplete or unresponsive to this RFEI , and (VII) cancel and reissue, in whole or in part, this RFEI if the City, in its sole discretion, deems it to be in the best interest. The City may exercise the foregoing rights at any time without notice and without liability to any respondent to this RFEI or any other party. Responses to this RFEI shall be prepared at the sole cost of the respondent. Additionally, responses to this RFEI shall not obligate the City to procure any of the professional services described herein from such respondents. PUBLIC RECORDS DRAFT Under Washington State law (Chapter 42.56 RCW - Public Records Act), documents submitted in response to this Request for Expressions of Interest become public record upon submission to the City, subject to mandatory disclosure upon request by any person, unless the documents are exempted from public disclosure by a specific provision of law. If the City receives a request for copying or inspection of any such documents submitted to the City, it will promptly notify the requesting party (by U.S. mail) within five business days that the request was received and of its decision to either provide the information or deny the request. Prior to the disclosure of any documents received in response to this Request for Expressions of Interest, the City will notify the specific respondent that a request for a copy and inspection of their submitted documents has been made, and will postpone disclosure of subject documents for a reasonable period of time as permitted by law to enable the respondent to seek a court order prohibiting or conditioning the release of the documents. The City assumes no contractual obligation to enforce any exemption. EVALUATION of SUBMITTED PROPOSALS The City of Auburn reserves the right to reject any and all submittals and to waive irregularities and informalities in the submittal and evaluation process. This RFE/ does not obligate the City to pay any costs incurred by respondents in the preparation and submission of a proposal. Furthermore, this RFE/ does not obligate the City to accept or contract for any expressed or implied services. Your authorized signature in the space below indicates your understanding and acceptance of the terms and conditions as presented in the RFEI, the terms and conditions of the Public Records provisions, and the terms and conditions of the evaluation and submittal process. Your signature gives the City specific authority to share your interest with other parties who may be able to develop facilities on this site to meet your stated requirements. (Name of Firm) (Authorized signature) (Date)