BusDev Highlights 2006 0209 - Laserfiche WebLink

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a • Tom Liao announced that all of the residents of the former Islander Motel have been relocated to new housing and that the property is vacant and secure. The relocation effort involved a great deal of personal attention from City staff as well as the Agency's relocation consultant to insure that individual housing needs were met. Mercy Housing is completing the clean-up of the rooms and should be finished in the next few weeks. The property has been fenced and additional lighting has been installed to deter vandals. San Leandro Police will monitor the situation and patrol the property on a regular basis. Tom. Liao explained that the relocation effort should cost approximately $200,000, well below the roughly $450,000 budgeted by the Agency. The Committee expressed their appreciation to staff for smooth and effective relocation program. Staff described some of the next steps in finalizing the plan to rehabilitate the units and redesign the facade of the building so that it can be an attractive neighbor. Tom Liao explained that negotiations were underway with Mercy Housing in anticipation of bringing a Disposition and Development Agreement to the Agency in the next 45 to 60 days. Mercy is proceeding with the preparation of a tax credit application with the State. The DDA will likely be structured as a sale of the property with a loan from the Agency for the value of the property plus some design upgrades. The DDA will also include an annual operating subsidy with a maximum annual contribution by the Agency out of the housing set-aside. Vice-Mayor Badger inquired as to how much the design upgrades would cost. Hanson Hom responded that staff estimates the upgrades will cost somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000 and would be focused on the building elevation facing East 14t~' Street. Mayor Young asked if staff had noticed a decrease in crime at the property and Tom Liao responded that there had been no incidents since the Agency and Mercy took over management of the building. This compares very favorably with the daily calls the Police Department received before the acquisition. Staff will forward a complete crime report for the property from the Police Department in the next several weeks. 4. Update on Downtown TOD Strategy Kathleen Livermore provided a brief update on the progress of the Downtown Transit Oriented Development Strategy Citizen Advisory Committee since their formation January 3, 2006. The first meeting of the Committee was held January 24th and was well attended by the diversity of members representing across-section of community interests in the Downtown. At the first meeting, Committee members discussed some of their individual interests and concerns. A summary of the responses and a schedule of the planning process is attached to the highlights. It was suggested by the members of the Business Development Committee that the City Council should be represented at TOD Committee meetings by having one member of the Council attend each meeting on a rotating basis. The Councilmember in attendance could introduce the main subject of the evening and set the stage for discussion. The Committee agreed that it was important for people to feel that their input was appreciated and that the Council was active in the process. The next meeting of the TOD Committee is tentatively scheduled for March 28, 2006 and will be attended by the Mayor.