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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-24-21 CDC Minutes DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, August 24, 2021 – 5:00 p.m. 5555 Perimeter Drive Council Chamber Meeting Minutes Mr. Reiner called the August 24, 2021 Community Development Committee meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Members present: Mr. Reiner, Mr. Keeler and Mayor Amorose Groomes Staff present: Ms. O’Callaghan, Ms. Rauch, Ms. Gilger, Ms. Martin, Mr. Hendershot, Mr. Meyer, Ms. Blake Also present: Mr. Green and Mr. Stang, Planning Next; Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Brehm, EMH&T; Mr. Way, PZC; Mr. Kelley, Kelley and Associates; Mr. Starr, Crawford Hoying Micro Center Visioning Advisory Committee Ms. O’Callaghan thanked the Committee for the opportunity to conduct the visioning process and introduced Mr. Green. Mr. Green reviewed the format for the evening as outlined in the presentation attached as Exhibit A. Ms. Rauch gave an overview of the Dublin Corporate Area Plan (DCAP). Mr. Green concluded the introduction by adding that Covid-19 is clearly having an impact on everything. He stated that the Bridge Street development has helped the larger community understand larger development as it has been received well and performed well. Mr. Stang reviewed the assessment of current conditions of the Metro Center and outlined the focus area. He shared the character of the offices in the area and noted that the current occupancy rates do not relate to how it is being utilized right now. Mr. Brehm spoke about the infrastructure evaluation of the site. (Exhibit A) Mr. Stang reviewed the challenges of the site and provided examples of successful rehabilitation of comparable sites and strategies that worked. Community Development Committee August 24, 2021 Page 2 Mr. Keeler stated that the examples showed added buildings. There is a lot of existing asphalt. Green space in place of parking lots could reduce the footprint of not only asphalt but the retention ponds. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that TIF funds for these businesses would have expired. It would be interesting to see the TIF capacity. Knowing what resources are available is important. She is proponent of structured parking on this site. The water features are in need of improvement. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that she can think of no better site to relocate the fishing derby and other recreational activities. She would be interested to see what it would take to get living bodies of water at the site versus stagnant bodies of water. Mr. Reiner sated that he is curious about the consolidation of parking here. Up front is a commercial strip. They need to consider what the “wow factor” is that will draw people in. There is a lot of potential for infill on the site. He doesn’t know if he likes the way the buildings are laid out on the street and feels that something creative could be come up with. There does not need to be anymore hardscape. Mr. Kelley stated that knowing the identity is important to creating the synergy. Structured parking is a must to get the critical mass. Office uses will come out of Covid with a different modus operandi. People want to belong to something so this will have to have a strong identity and it has to be done cohesively. He stated that this could have an interesting civic component. Mr. Starr stated that his initial impressions of the examples were not ambitious enough. The site does have to have an identity. He would be interested in looking at examples where such redevelopment was attempted and did not work. He suggested that maybe the City could make strategic acquisitions; especially with key parcels on the frontage. Mr. Way posed the question, “Are we trying to save an aging office park or create a unique mixed use development?” He asked about what the role of Frantz Road is going to be. Bridge Park is almost built out. He felt the examples provided were not really visionary. Mr. Reiner stated that a whole new vision that is exciting is necessary. Mr. Green confirmed that this is more than a real estate effort. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that we do not want to replicate anything that we have but want to create a new space. She noted that sometimes recreating the same type of development becomes cannibalism. Community Development Committee August 24, 2021 Page 3 With no objection, the Committee recessed at 6:00 p.m. for 15 minutes with all members returning to the dais to reconvene at 6:15 p.m. Mr. Green reviewed the findings from the stakeholder interviews and highlighted emerging themes. (Exhibit A) Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that she was surprised to not see that sustainability was a high priority. She referenced residential development and stated that people are looking to downsize and reinvest. She sees some sort of owner occupied facilities and workforce housing for the Metro Center. Mr. Kelley stated that this will need some dense residential component with diversified housing if it works to supplement the mass of the office buildings. It needs a scale that makes sense; maybe retail with apartments above. Mr. Green confirmed that having some office in there is still desirable to the City. Mr. Kelly agreed that office is a great component. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that she does not know why, as a City, Dublin would be interested if this were to be all residential. Mr. Green stated that they need to help find the sweet spot having enough retail, office and residential. Mr. Way stated that there is a lot of housing in that area. What type of use and housing is necessary to support the area. Mr. Keeler stated that he is thinking of one-bedroom studio housing. If you create the right environment in this spot, people will want to live there. Mr. Green stated that they can develop a menu of housing. Mr. Reiner noted that economically, office is really important as it does pay for the rest of the program. Mr. Green asked the panel about location or distribution of housing. Mr. Keeler asked if the upper loop is within the scope of this discussion because there are building along 270 that are likely in a similar position. Mayor Amorose Groomes suggested really high-end, for-purchase units be placed along Frantz Road with L-shaped buildings with residential units above that. She stated that every housing development that abuts a highway does not look good. She would prefer to see housing away from the interstate. Community Development Committee August 24, 2021 Page 4 Mr. Green stated that development along the road has value as a symbol that this is happening as opposed to starting a development in the back. Mr. Green asked for the payroll taxes generated in the area. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that it is significant. Ms. Gilger stated that she could get a guesstimate. Mr. Kelley stated that Dublin has a lot of expensive housing options including Bridge Park so it needs to be considered what demographic this is serving. If it is serving the workforce, he suggested looking into micro units. That will also help create density and synergy. Mr. Way stated that outside the loop is all office. If a balance is desired, residential will want to be an amenity. Frantz Road is a street that handles the density. There should be a discussion about mixed use and if it is stacked or different buildings. Mr. Starr stated that this could create an environment where someone wants to come in and build a freestanding office building. Mixed use is both vertical and different buildings. Mr. Kelly challenged the group to think about a special civic piece here. It does not have to take a lot of land but has to be special. Mr. Reiner gave an example of a city in France where they project the history along a building and it draws people to the area every evening. Mr. Way suggested more than two stories along Frantz. The site is in proximity to the center of the City and he would think of trying to maximize intensity and not sprawl into the countryside. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that building massing is interesting in that two buildings can be the same size and feel completely different. Architecture is very important. If the buildings are going to be more than two stories along Frantz, they would have to be special buildings. Across the way are ranch homes and three stories may be appropriate if it does not feel hard. Mr. Reiner agreed that it depends on the architecture and setbacks. Mr. Starr stated that this area will develop organically at different times with different developers so we have to be aware of how people see what is happening. Mr. Green confirmed that the idea of branding is very important.