| | | | | | | |  | New Business and Commission Requests - R9 L
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM |
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| | | | | | | | | TO: | Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission | | | FROM: | Alina T. Hudak, City Manager | | | DATE: | March 9, 2022 | | | |
| | SUBJECT: | DISCUSSION REGARDING THE MODIFICATION AND REDESIGN OF THE LINCOLN ROAD REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT. |
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| | | | | | | | BACKGROUND/HISTORY
| On March 9, 2016, pursuant to the development and approval of the Lincoln Road Master Plan, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2016-29319, awarding the contract for Architectural and Engineering Design Services for the Lincoln Road Redevelopment Project to James Corner Field Operations (JCFO).
On June 8, 2016, pursuant to RFQ 2016-073-KB, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2016-29447, awarding a Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR) contract for pre-construction services, to Burkhardt Construction, Inc.
On October 28, 2016, following the completion of the schematic design phase and value engineering efforts, the project team presented the design and estimated costs to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee, which gave direction to the project team to forgo the value engineering options and design to the master plan recommendations. This included Lincoln Road, from Lenox Avenue to Washington Avenue; Lincoln Road, from Washington Avenue to Collins Avenue; Meridian Avenue, from Lincoln Road to 17th Street; Pennsylvania Avenue, from Lincoln Road to Lincoln Lane North; and Drexel Avenue, from 16th Street to Lincoln Lane North.
The types of improvements proposed included enhancement of pedestrian walkways and cafe zones; modifications to the existing planters and water features; new landscape and irrigation; cosmetic repairs to the historic Lapidus structures; drainage improvements; lighting; signalization/wayfinding; performance/multipurpose areas in the 500 and 600 Blocks; outdoor furnishings at selected locations; a gateway trellis feature at the 400 Block; replacement of underground infrastructure; crosswalk enhancements; and milling and resurfacing of asphalt paving.
On July 3, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District (LRBID) adopted Resolution No. 18-19-11, in support of the implementation of the Lincoln Road Redevelopment Project. The LRBID further expressed its desire to (i) expand the term of the LRBID for an additional five years; (ii) increase the area covered by the LRBID to include, at a minimum, Lincoln Road, from Collins Avenue to West Avenue, and to also include the connector streets; and (iii) increase the special assessments to current LRBID members by approximately twenty-five percent (25%).
On July 31, 2019, the Administration presented the project and budget to the City Commission. The full scope of the project, estimated at approximately $77.4 million, was approximately $27 million over budget. During that meeting, the Administration recommended proceeding with the project by reducing the project scope and augmenting the funding. The reduced scope included the omission of the gateway trellis located at the Washington Avenue entrance to Lincoln Road. Additionally, the recommendation omitted the Washington Avenue to Collins Avenue (Lincoln Road 200-300 Blocks) scope.
The Administration’s recommendation was expressly conditioned on an expanded project budget being made available, upon the successful extension and expansion of the LRBID (as represented by the LRBID in its Resolution). This would generate additional revenue to be used for arts, culture and performance programming, as well as the necessary promotional, marketing and advertising campaigns.
The City Commission accepted the recommendation of the Administration, subject to the conditions provided, and directed staff to proceed with a version of the Lincoln Road Plan which included a reduced scope and an augmented project budget, for a total project cost of approximately $67 million. To date, the LRBID has not expanded or extended the district (or generated any additional revenue) in accordance with its initial July 3, 2019 Resolution.
On March 12, 2020, the City of Miami Beach declared a State of Emergency in response to the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic (COVID-19) and announced various emergency measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including the immediate closure of non-essential retail businesses which impacted the commercial businesses along the Lincoln Road corridor.
Simultaneously, market conditions and uncertainty within the construction industry resulted in the CMAR advising the City to delay the Guarantee Maximum Price (GMP) process, in order to ensure greater participation by potential bidders. The project team agreed that postponing the bid process was in the best interest of the project.
Additionally, in recognition of the impact of the pandemic on Lincoln Road businesses, the Administration felt that continued business interruption generated by a construction project of this magnitude could be excessive. On April 16, 2020, City staff met with representatives of the LRBID to discuss options that would reduce the scope of work, with the intent of minimizing impacts to those businesses. The LRBID was supportive of the effort and made recommendations on which elements could be removed from the scope. The LRBID also informed City staff that as a result of the pandemic, they would not be able to meet the commitment to expand and extend the LRBID, as contemplated under the LRBID’s July 3, 2019 Resolution.
During the Summer of 2020, City staff and representatives of the LRBID met numerous times to explore and discuss options. In light of the economic impact of the pandemic on the City, the Administration advised the project team and the LRBID that the project budget would be limited to the $52.4 million in funding already available to the project.
City staff and the LRBID further discussed potential scope reductions in order to reduce the scope and cost of the project to the available $52.4 Million budget. City staff proposed maintaining the following within the project scope:
• Infrastructure upgrades and improvements at Meridian and Drexel Avenues (water, sanitary sewer & storm drainage)
• Meridian Avenue improvements
• Pedestrianization of Drexel Avenue
• Restoration/repair of fountains and repair of associated equipment
• Restoration of the Lapidus follies
• Upgrade existing light fixtures at existing locations
• Implementation of the concept for the Euclid Avenue oval
• Refurbishing the seating areas along the Lincoln Road corridor
• Refinish the existing piano keys using a more durable traffic coating
• Restoration of aluminum grates of at existing trench drains
• Lincoln Road directional and informational signage package
• A more significant Lincoln Road gateway sign at Washington Avenue, which also serves as a component of the security barrier system
• A matching Lincoln Road gateway sign at Alton Road, which also serves as a component of the security barrier system (this location and scope falls outside the original limits of the project)
• Design and installation of a playground
• Security barrier system, including planters, bollards, furnishings, etc.
City staff proposed elimination or reduction of the following:
• Omit the gateway trellis at Washington Avenue
• Eliminate, to the extent possible, all removal and replacement of concrete paving within the pedestrian areas of Lincoln Road
• Reduced landscaping & irrigation improvements
• Reduced site furnishings
• Eliminate proposed light pole and fixture upgrades
• Eliminate electrical upgrades, specifically at electrical rooms
• Eliminate traffic signalization and crosswalk improvements
• Omit security camera infrastructure
• Omit, to the extent possible, any under-pavement work so as to preserve the existing pavement
The infrastructure upgrades and improvements listed above include water mains, sanitary sewer and storm drainage scope of work. As the Lincoln Road plan includes replacement of paving on Drexel and Meridian Avenues, it is cost effective to undertake these revisions at this time and would avoid future impacts to newly installed roads. The Public Works Department also deems these improvements critical. The approximate total cost of the infrastructure improvements is $5.2 million ($3.4M water/sewer and $1.8M storm drainage).
On August 20, 2020, the LRBID adopted Resolution No. 19-20-10. This Resolution urged the City of Miami Beach to promptly enter into an agreement with JCFO to modify the Lincoln Road Redevelopment Plan in a manner that: (1) eliminates the most disruptive element of the plan, the replacement of the sidewalks; (2) retains as many of the other design elements of the Master Plan as possible, including the Gateway Trellis; (3) minimizes the number of modifications to existing plans in order to expedite the permitting and construction process; ( 4) makes the installation of the designed bollards a paramount priority; and (5) stays within a budget approved by the City Commission. Additionally, the Resolution urged the City of Miami Beach to authorize construction of a Modified Lincoln Road Redevelopment Plan with Burkhardt Construction in the manner described above so that final permitting and construction can commence at the earliest possible date.
On January 13, 2021, the City Commission directed the Administration to request a proposal and amend the agreement with JCFO to revise the drawings per the further reduced scope of work and within an allocated total budget of approximately $52.4 million, equating to a construction budget of $34 million to $36 million inclusive of $5.2 million for water/sewer and drainage infrastructure work, funded separately from alternate funding sources.
On September 30, 2021, the City Commission approved the FY21-22 Capital Budget, appropriating $1.8 million for storm water infrastructure and programming $3.4 million in FY22-23 for water and sewer infrastructure. The total project budget, subsequent to this appropriation is $57.6 million. However, as previously stipulated, the City Commission has authorized the expenditure of a total of $52.4M for the project.
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS
| As directed by Commission, on February 2, 2021, staff requested a proposal from JCFO to redesign the Lincoln Road Project, incorporating the reduced scope. From February through May, 2021, City staff and representatives of JCFO met numerous times to discuss the revised scope of work and the allocated total project budget of $52.4 million.
On May 24, 2021 JCFO submitted a letter with attachments via email to the Mayor, City Commissioners & City Manager listing a series of concerns and proposing a phased plan approach for the reduced scope of work and reduced budget.
Following the receipt of the letter, the City Manager and staff met with members of the LRBID, to discuss the project. During that meeting, the reduced scope and JCFO’s concerns were discussed. The LRBID indicated no objection to the reduced scope and asked if they could communicate directly with JCFO, in order to try and resolve the concerns.
Subsequently, City staff and representatives from the City Manager’s office have continued to discuss this item with JCFO and have been unable to agree on a path to move the project forward that would be represented in their proposal. The City has a need to restore, upgrade, repair or replace many of the critical elements and features along the corridor. JCFO does not believe that these items should be included in their proposal.
On October 22, 2021, staff provided a status of the project to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee. The Committee referred the item to the December 8, 2021 Commission meeting for discussion.
On December 8, 2021, the City Commission discussed the project and agreed to utilize the total available project budget of $57.6M to address the critical elements and features and include any transformative elements that could be included within the available budget. The City Commission directed staff to contact JCFO to inquire if they would reconsider their position in redesigning the revised scope of work. Commission also requested to come back with a project at the next commission meeting.
On January 20, 2022, the City Commission deferred the item to the February 9, 2022 meeting.
During the time since the December 8 Commission meeting, City staff met with stakeholders and further evaluated the critical needs for the Lincoln Road project and identified the estimated construction costs of each of the project’s components. Additionally, the anticipated components, scope and budget was shared and discussed with JCFO. The items identified as a critical need include:
• Infrastructure upgrades and improvements at Meridian and Drexel Avenues (water, sanitary sewer & storm drainage)
• Restoration/repair of fountains and repair of associated equipment
• Restoration of the Lapidus follies
• Upgrade existing light fixtures at existing locations
• Refurbishing the seating areas along the Lincoln Road corridor
• Refinish the existing piano keys using a more durable traffic coating
• Restoration/replacement of aluminum grates of at existing trench drains
• Lincoln Road directional and informational signage package
• Right of Way work at the intersections
• Replacing damaged concrete throughout Lincoln Road
• Landscaping & irrigation improvements
• Site furnishings
The resulting breakdown of the available construction budget, in consideration of City needs, is as follows and accommodates approximately $12M for architectural enhancements:
• Critical elements & features: $18 million
• Infrastructure Work: $ 4 million
• Bollards: $ 2 million
• Architectural Enhancements: $12 million
Discussions with JCFO regarding their participation in the re-envisioned Lincoln Road project resulted in positive feedback and consideration of the manner in which they could continue their services to the City. A meeting is being scheduled between the City and JCFO, to take place in early February, to address questions and determine a path forward. Ultimately, the City is seeking to have JCFO continue their role as the consultant for the four components, via an amendment to the agreement, subsequent to receipt and negotiation of a proposal for the added scope.
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| | | | | | | | SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA
| | N/A |
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION
| The Administration has identified and estimated the cost of the critical elements and features along the corridor. Staff will provide an update of the project at the next City Commission meeting. |
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| | | | | | | | Applicable Area
| | South Beach |
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| | | | | | | | | Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? | | Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds? | | | Yes | | Yes | |
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| | | | | | | | Strategic Connection
| | Prosperity - Revitalize targeted areas and increase investment. |
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| | | | | | | | Legislative Tracking
Capital Improvement Projects |
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