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CITY OF SAN LEANDRO <br />MEMORANDUM <br />Date: June 30, 2008 <br />To: City Council Business and Housing Development Committee <br />From: Luke Sims, Community Development Director <br />Via: Cynthia Battenberg, Business Development Manager <br />By: Jeff Kay, Business Development Analyst <br />Subject: Discussion Regarding Recommendation to Enter Into an Exclusive <br />Negotiating Rights Agreement with Innisfree Companies for Development <br />of 1550 East 14th Street and Town Hall Square <br />Until construction of the new downtown parking garage is completed, the former <br />Albertsons site and a portion of the site known as Town Hall Square will be used to <br />provide temporary replacement parking for downtown businesses. The design and <br />specifications for the lots are scheduled to go to the City Council for approval on July 20. <br />In the long-term, however, these locations have been identified as two of the three key <br />opportunity sites for implementation of the City's Transit Oriented Development (TOD) <br />Strategy. The opportunity sites were chosen based on their "ability to serve as <br />development catalysts with the potential for near-term success in key locations." For <br />both sites, the TOD strategy preliminarily envisioned roughly 20,000 square feet of retail <br />space and more than 100 for-sale residential units. Actual development plans are <br />subject to change based on the results of more extensive planning efforts and current <br />market conditions. <br />Although development of the sites cannot commence until the parking garage is <br />completed, staff recommends initiating the first steps of the development process at <br />this time. Beginning the planning now will facilitate timely implementation of the TOD <br />Strategy and will minimize the risk of having excess surface parking and underused sites <br />downtown once the garage opens. The City can initiate planning for these crucial <br />locations at this time by identifying a preferred developer and entering into an exclusive <br />negotiating rights agreement for the purpose of reaching a disposition and development <br />agreement. Staff has identified the Innisfree Companies as an ideal partner for these <br />sites for the following reasons: <br />