Demolition Documents (compiled notebook)

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From: JOHN RUSSELL ~ To: whealy Date: 10/12/98 4:36pm Subject: Response to Mayor's questions Bill. Following is a copy of the Mayor's email. I have responded to his questions immediately following each question. My answers are in bold. John Dear Staff: My understanding of the prior council's agreement with the county and the transit district was that we would allocate up to $2 million for the usual kinds of streetscape improvements. However, after reviewing this request, which is substantially more that the +/-$1.3I million that it was penciled out to be previously, I am concerned that we are treating this request for "streetscape improvements" very differently from the way such requests have been treated in other projects that this city has engaged in previously. I have these specific questions and observations, the answers to which will determine whether I need to have this Consent item pulled for more careful consideration and deliberation: ~ 1. A major item is the "arcade/pavilion/clock tower": $461,256. I don't recall the city ever participating in building such structures, as "weather protection," (or otherwise) which, under the effective definition here, is anything that one can get under in case of rain. We anticipate the construction of "arcades" all along Front Street. I doubt that we are going to financially assist those developers in the same way. Accordingly, I would like to know how much of this $461K would go for the kind of "streetscape" expenses that the city has undertaken in the past, including staying with the $160/ft maximum for true weather protection devices --and a city loan up to $300/ft. This is a aew area of public improvementa for participation by the Renewal Ageacy, made necessary by the proposed public plaza. The public plaza ~ implements the Core Area Master Plan provision which encourages additional public space in the vicinity of the County Courthouse. The existence of the public plaza does not allow normal weather protection to be attached to a building along the sidewalk. While the weather protection could be located on the right-of-way, the proposed design essentially allows for broader weather protected sidewalks, while meeting the objectives of the deaign guidelines. Wlzile we will require arcades along Front St. in the design guideliaes and standards, they will be incorporated into the building structure itself. A good example of this design is the Bquitable Center, which is designed with ground floor arcades. The City standard grant for weather protection is $160 per linear foot, with a supplementsl loan ( terms of which = 10~ over 10 years) for up to $300 per ~ foot. Staff estimate that there are 582 feet of free etanding arcade which will serve as weather protection. This would provide approximately $93,120 of