City Council

City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Workshop Wednesday, December 20, 2006 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL ROOM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2006 7:00 P.M. PRESENT : Valerie Keehn, Mayor Commissioner John Franck, Accounts Commissioner Ron Kim, DPS Commissioner Matthew McCabe, Finance Commissioner Thomas McTygue, DPW STAFF PRESENT : Lynn Bachner, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Michele Boxley, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Eileen Finneran, Deputy Mayor PROJECT PRESENTERS : Sonny Bonacio, Bonacio Construction George Olsen, Olsen Associates Mike Ingersoll, The LA Group LILLIAN ’S PARKING LOT Bill McTygue, Director of Utilities, said the Council was here this evening to review the potential that exists with the possible redevelopment of the Lillian’s parking lot. The City owned parcel is a surface parking lot which is one third at grade and two structural wings on both the north and south sides of the lot. It is the structural wings that pose a problem for the City. The north side failed this past summer. The Council then decided to distribute an RFP to seek interest from developers on how this area could be developed to benefit the City and more importantly the downtown. He said many people here this evening will remember what once was on this lot. He informed Council members that the notice for the RFP went out to dozens of developers, however, only one responded. He said that perhaps Sonny Bonacio could shed some light on why he was the only respondent. He then turned the presentation over to Sonny Bonacio. Sonny Bonacio thanked the Council for the opportunity to present his proposal. He introduced the team on the project as follows: George Olsen, Olsen Associates and Mike Ingersoll, The LA Group, noting that they had completed more than 30 projects together. Mike Ingersoll said this parcel is located on Broadway, between Caroline Street and Division Street. It is a major parcel in the downtown area. There is access to the alley way and a public easement to the rear. The key items of consideration throughout this project were the adjoining buildings. He then displayed several photographs of the downtown area, nearby structures and photographs of what once was on the site. Some of the photos dated back to 1890 and 1933. He said a lot of research and thought was given to the surrounding structures and what was previously on this site, when developing a design for a new structure. He said the proposal tonight brings some of the exuberance from prior structures back to the City. He noted that of importance are the alley ways and the pedestrian access through the lot. He said the City is currently studying a transportation plan that stresses the linkages throughout the City including pedestrian access. They have maintained the east/west access and pulled the building back from the two adjacent structures. George Olsen then showed an overlay of the proposed structure onto the streetscape. He said under this proposal, they have included pedestrian access on both sides of the building that is ten feet wide. By bringing the structure back from those two buildings, the footprint went from 16,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet. The pedestrian access will go to a terrace landscaped area in the rear that will allow for benches and seating. It will be similar to a plaza area overlooking the entrance to perhaps a café. There will be retail on the first floor, offices on the second and residential on the third and fourth. The mixed use will allow for the traditional storefront façade. The façade will wrap around the building along the pedestrian arcade. They will bring back 1 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Workshop Wednesday, December 20, 2006 the balconies on the residential floors. The pedestrian corridors will be active spaces. On the lower level there will be parking for 31 cars with access to Putnam Street. Sonny Bonacio reviewed a list of concerns/issues that have been brought to his attention: 1. He ruled out a lease option because that would limit his ability to sell the upper floor residential units. 2. The existing lot is failing and will continue to fail. 3. No IDA assistance is being sought. The project will pay all sales tax, mortgage tax and property taxes. 4. There will be 31 parking spaces. 5. He has met with the four adjacent property owners to review the existing conditions and address their concerns. 6. Mr. Levinsky will allow access via a right of way for rear access. 7. A one day traffic study was done on December 19 noting that there were 482 trips from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. entering and exiting the site without being successful at finding a spot. That equates to 964 vehicle trips across the sidewalk. 8. The elimination of the curb cuts will allow for four additional parking spaces on Broadway. 9. His proposal is to construct a 48,000 square foot building not 95,000 square feet which is allowed in the T-6 district. 10. A goal of this project was to create the linkage from Broadway to Putnam Street. Sonny Bonacio reviewed the proposed purchase price of $750,000. He said that along with the purchase price of $750,000 the City would gain in other areas such as: demolition and removal of the existing structure ($95,000), environmental clean up ($5,000), funds to be donated for Gardner Lane Improvements ($40,000), bringing water and sewer to the site ($8,000), National Grid service ($60,000), off site paving of alley to Putnam Street ($15,000), surface arcade area for linkage ($30,000), linkage stair from rear of site to Putnam Street ($65,000), bringing the total cost to $1,068,000. He said that breaking that down by the square foot, foot print and costs, it equated to $3,876,840 per acre. Sonny Bonacio then reviewed recent projects in the City and their costs: 1999 - Roohan building: lot purchased from the City for $220,000. Cost per acre $1,331,000 2004 - Woodlawn Avenue parking lot: Sonny Bonacio bid on this project, however, the project did not come to fruition. 2005 – YMCA – Sonny Bonacio/Tom Roohan purchase price of $1,450,000 and a total per acre price of $2,450,910 2005 – Land behind City Hall: three bidders, project still under review 2005 – Woodlawn Avenue/Church Street lot: two respondents to the bid – Adirondack Trust for $650,000 and MCB for $200,000. Awarded to ATC for a per acre cost of $1,573,000. Sonny Bonacio said this is a very competitive industry and some projects are not as easy as others. He said it was likely that the “numbers” just did not work for others to bid on the project. It works for him because he is already very familiar with how the City works and what the City’s needs are. Sonny Bonacio then gave to the Council an engineering study that was completed in 2004 for the Woodlawn Avenue site. He said that study would be helpful for the City when they are ready to look at that project again. That lot could accommodate nearly 500 spaces with a three level deck (one below and two hung). He believed that the Woodlawn Avenue lot and the Lillian’s lot are linked. Sonny Bonacio said that in the last four years, his projects have created 562 parking spaces not one of which was required by zoning. The spaces are created because he knows what businesses want. The cost of constructing parking spaces average $18,000 which means he has spent more than $10 million on parking in the downtown area. He encouraged the Council to reconsider the Woodlawn Avenue lot and use the money from the sale of the Lillian’s lot towards the Woodlawn Avenue lot. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said it was the intent of the City to use the money for the downtown parking. He said parking on Woodlawn Avenue of 450 spaces with bathrooms and an elevator was something to consider. Sonny Bonacio said the Woodlawn Avenue project could be phased (left to right). Commissioner Thomas McTygue said it was time to have a committee review this matter. Projects need to be scheduled 2 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Workshop Wednesday, December 20, 2006 around the racing season. These are major undertakings that are long overdue. He has talked to a lot of downtown business owners and they all want more parking. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said he would like to see the Lillian’s parking spaces remain until the Woodlawn Avenue lot is completed. He believed the two should be tied together. The City needs to look for funding through public/private partnerships. He said the cost of parking spaces could be $10,000. All seemed to agree that it would be between $15,000 and $20,000 per space. Sonny Bonacio said the estimated cost at the Woodlawn Avenue site was $15,500 for three decks. He said that he had done his homework on that project as well. The County has a $35 million surplus and they may be willing to step up. Senator Joe Bruno has been generous in the past. Adjacent property owners, Charles Wait and Sonny Bonacio are willing to donate additional funds. The City already has between $400,000 and $500,000 in an account. That brings the amount up to about $3 million that the City could potentially already have available. He said the entire lot of nearly 500 cars would cost between $7 and $7.5 million, noting that $3 million was a good start. He said he had spoken with Jasper Nolan and Senator Joe Bruno on this matter already. Commissioner John Franck clarified that the upper floors would be condo units and the condo association would be responsible for property maintenance. Sonny Bonacio said yes. Commissioner John Franck assumed the 31 parking spaces would be for the condos and businesses. Sonny Bonacio said yes. Sonny Bonacio also noted that this project could be staged. Bill McTygue said time is a prominent element of this project. With the continued deterioration of the parking lot he did not believe that it would last more than one more season. He said they planned to go under it again tomorrow to take a look. He also said the structural engineer firm, Ryan Biggs, has stated that it was only a matter of time before the south side of the structure failed. He was not sure that tying this to the Woodlawn Avenue project would work. Commissioner Ron Kim suggested that an appraisal be done on this parcel to ensure that the City was getting fair market value. He also said the real cost of constructing and maintaining parking structures needs to be considered. There needs to be a maintenance budget. A public/private partnership needs to be developed. Commissioner John Franck said an appraisal could be done, but he also noted that the Council needs to consider the value of the parcel to the City. Sonny Bonacio said there are a lot of public/private opportunities available from those business owners who back up to the Woodlawn Avenue site. He said he too was sorry that there were no other respondents to this project – it would have been nice to have another set of numbers to work off of. Mayor Valerie Keehn suggested setting up a committee. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that perhaps there should be someone from each department. Mayor Valerie Keehn said she would also like to have the City Planner on this committee. Bill McTygue said the City Planner would have the opportunity to review this project in detail when it goes before the Planning Board. Commissioner Matthew McCabe agreed that a group needed to be put together to analyze all of this information. Sonny Bonacio suggested that some of the individuals who reviewed the Woodlawn Avenue proposal be on this committee. He said they could provide some insight. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that parking in the downtown has been a problem for 28 years. He and/or his representatives have sat on many committees reviewing this matter and the result is always the same. The City needs more spaces downtown. The last report showed that at least 1,200 more spaces were needed. There seemed to be agreement that the Accounts Department would have an appraisal done on the parcel and that a committee would be set up to analyze all of the data. Mayor Valerie Keehn opened the meeting for public comment. Bruce Levinsky, Merlin Development, said he owns the adjacent parcel. He was delighted to see this proposal and whole heartedly supported it. He was glad to see the enthusiasm from the Council and happy to see some new architecture being brought downtown. He had talked to Sonny Bonacio at length and was glad to see the thoughtfulness that went into the project. He believed the City was being offered a fair price for the lot and entire project was overwhelmingly attractive for the City. He said that perhaps because of the complexity of 3 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Workshop Wednesday, December 20, 2006 the Woodlawn Avenue lot, it may not be prudent to tie these two projects together. Again, he stated that he supported this project. Mayor Valerie Keehn said that not only is parking a problem for shoppers, it is a problem for workers in the downtown area. Kyle York, 59 Railroad Place, said this project was a great proposal. He would like to serve on the committee reviewing the project. This building will fill the empty space in a grand way. The City will gain much from this project and should not focus on the loss of the parking spaces at this location. He suggested that some thought be given to moving the memorial to the Dessert Storm participants. He said this was a good project and it should move forward. Mark Strauss, nearby property owner and downtown business owner, said this building will add value to the entire street and to the City as a whole. He said there is a huge demand for space and he encouraged the Council to support the project. Joe Dalton, Chamber of Commerce, said that he has sat on many of those committees reviewing the downtown parking matter. He said $3 million on a $7 million project was a good start. He said that great amounts of money were recently spent on the YMCA and the proposed indoor recreation facility noting that both of those projects are for recreation. The downtown area is falling apart and has many empty store fronts. Assessments have risen, rent goes up and the businesses then leave. Shoppers are avoiding the downtown because of the perception that there is no parking. The DBA would like to see of the funds gained from the sale of this parcel to go to the parking fund. He agreed that timing was a problem for construction at this lot. He said there will be inconvenience for all while this lot is under construction. He said that unless the City is willing to invest substantial funds in parking, then the City will eventually end up looking like Schenectady. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said financing will be difficult. The Spring Street deck is facing a substantial amount of money for repairs. There needs to be some discussion on paid parking in the downtown area. Perhaps it could be paid parking for new structures. There needs to be some funds available for maintaining these structures. Financial packages need to be developed. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said this is something that the committee could review. He agreed that funds need to be generated. Joe Dalton said he would return to the Council before the end of January with some financial plans on how to finance and maintain the decks. Commissioner Ron Kim said there needs to be some consideration on parking along Broadway. He said parking close often requires a parking fee. He noted that at the mall, shoppers are paying for the valet service. People almost expect to pay when parking close. Joe Dalton said the City needs a larger budget for enforcement. DPS does not have adequate manpower to cover parking enforcement in the City. There needs to be better use of the parking spaces in the downtown area. He said he was concerned with the paid parking at the Spring Street garage over the past two summers when the net profit for the City was zero. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said he was reviewing that matter. Council members thanked Sonny Bonacio for his presentation. Commissioner Matthew McCabe commended Sonny Bonacio on the High Rock Avenue building noting that it is a beautiful building. Sonny Bonacio thanked the Council for the opportunity to present his proposal. He reminded Council members and members of the public that the upcoming discussion on the roundabouts and the medians, which is a $12 million project, needs some serious attention. He encouraged everyone to participate in those discussions. Linda Ambrosino, G. Willikers, said she has been in business in the downtown area for 19 years. She said this is a good project and she encouraged the Council to move forward. She agreed that parking is problem in the downtown area. She said that downtown businesses compete with exit 15 and it is difficult. If shoppers believe they won’t find a space downtown, they will go to the mall. There needs to be additional parking on Woodlawn Avenue. 4 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Workshop Wednesday, December 20, 2006 There being no further business, the workshop was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Approved: 5 of 5