HISTORY
On April 29, 2021, at the request of Commissioner Michael Gongora, the City Commission referred a discussion item to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC) pertaining to a proposal for a mixed-use building at the location of a City parking lot at 1000 Washington Avenue (C4M). On May 12, 2021 the item was deferred to the June 21, 2021 LUSC meeting.

BACKGROUND
City parking lot P13, located at the northwest corner of Washington Avenue and 10th Street, consists of tax folios 02-4203-009-0280 and 02-4203-009-0290 and is 14,694 square feet in size. The lot lies immediately south of the Washington Park Hotel complex at 1020-1050 Washington Avenue. P13 is currently a surface lot with 37 surface parking spaces.

The owner of the Washington Park Hotel, WPH Properties, LLC, is proposing an agreement with the City that would result in the redevelopment of P13 with a new mixed-use structure, including ground floor commercial space, work-force housing, office space, integrated parking, and an amenity deck that could potentially be shared among residents and guests of the adjacent Washington Park Hotel.  In order to evaluate the unsolicited proposal the City Administration would need to issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) or the Commission would need to waive the competitive bidding process as identified in section 82-39.  

Based on discussions with the Washington Avenue Business Improvement District, WPH Properties, LLC is contemplating reserving all residential units for members of the City’s art community, focusing on musicians. The preliminary plans propose a development of 33 one-bedroom units or, alternatively, 6 one-bedroom units and 54 micro-units. All units would be designed to serve as work-force housing and would be subject to a binding covenant.

The initial design contemplates two ground-floor commercial spaces fronting both Washington Avenue and 10th Street. The existing public parking within the surface lot would be relocated within an integrated garage structure, with access provided by valet, as well as two loading spaces.  The terms under the which the development would move forward will be subject to negotiations with the City. WPH Properties, LLC is open to purchasing the land or, alternatively, entering into a long-term lease.