23rd Avenue Corridor Action Team

23^rd Avenue Corridor Action Team
Work Group Meeting with Dan Vanderpriem
September 15, 2003

Meeting Notes

Attending: Isabel, Jennie, Michelle Clarke-Clough, Elena, Jess W., Evangelina, David K., Bill W., Ray C., Victor, Don, Pat C., Eric

• David gave background on 23rd Avenue Work Group
• Dan: Is plan supposed to be a general plan for district or just a guiding document. Dan gave example of Coliseum—may want to give it more teeth by making it a formally adopted plan
• Evangelina posed first question around how to get LSA priorities funded through redevelopment

Arts & Cultural Center

• Dan asked about business incubator project
• First audience for project will be PAC
• Months ahead of other neighborhoods
• PAC will want to start doing things soon. In a good position to be a first project
• How can concept be refined so it can be matched with other funding sources (e.g., CDBG applications, housing NOFA). Ways to share costs. Could it be paired with a housing development?
• Better chance if you can show this will be a self-supporting project
• Redevelopment only funds bricks and mortar—can’t cover operating costs
• Go to PAC and present proposal. Sell idea to them
• Not going to be possible to do everything at once. But this project is well positioned to be one of first projects in the queue
• Final decision made by City Council. Have to get council to okay it
• Typically projects start with seed grant to do some pre-planning. Might consider asking PAC for pre-development grant
• Two-step process:
  1. Give grant to develop idea
  2. Come back with costs to do project
• PAC subcommittee to look at different types of projects. This would be good to present to community facilities committee
  • Find out when this subcommittee meets and talk to them about this idea
• How much does ORA staff influence funding discussions
• Dan: They will weigh in on the financing
• What about need for early projects to generate TIF
• Dan: Whole area will generate $150 million. This project will be a tiny percentage. So won’t make a difference. Also important to sell idea that cultural center will be a catalyst for other development
• Going to be important to get services into the committee. Cultural center is one of the things that will bring services
• Trying to structure things so that for-profit projects cover their own costs—won’t take money away from broader area
• A lot of projects won’t generate property tax but will still be done

Business Development in 23rd Avenue

• Don’t spread resources too thin, want to see impact. Focus on small geographic area
• Have a façade specialist to train city staff
• PAC needs to adopt rules for how façade improvement will operate—may be one-to-one match
• Need façade improvement program rules. Dan will give examples of rules that have worked in the past. PAC needs to decide how much money will be allocated to façade improvement
• Business recruitment landlords don’t have financial capacity to make tenant improvements. Tenant Improvement Program—program that has worked downtown. Run as loan or grant. Requires that tenant has business experience and three-to-five-year lease. PAC would adopt rules and budget. Economic development committee will work on this. Need to go to PAC with a specific proposal for façade and tenant improvement program
• Capital lending program for small businesses. Loan program
• Package to PAC:
  • Adopt façade improvement program
  • Tenant improvement program
  • Presentation to Public Works on streetscapes
• Question about façade improvement program
• Dan: Need to make it simple for businesses. Role of community participation is in setting rules, not weighing in on every building

Housing

• Dan: Currently plan calls for 25 percent housing set aside. Want to keep money in district, not go citywide. Some City Council members may object. Will revisit rule with both Central City East and West Oakland PAC
• Fix up existing units or build additional housing
• Bond issue to get developers to build replacement units for public housing. Sell off smaller units
• How do projects get prioritized?
• Dan: Very political, need support of Council member
  • Need to sell projects and their benefits, convince PAC and Council
  • Ask if this is the first and most important project we want to do? Because it will be a while before we get another project funded
  • First year PAC only has $1.5 million
  • Not clear how much is available for projects
  • PAC willing to pool money for projects—fund in one area and then move to next area
  • First part of process has threat of eminent domain—not a lot of money
  • Not on the mayor’s radar screen right now

Oak to Ninth Project

• Dan: Project is going to generate so much TIF money. Have a lot of work to do—clean up, etc.
  • Don’t plan to take money from other areas of CCE
  • Project could be a real boon to CCE
• What’s process in Coliseum Area?
  • No PAC, different process

Debrief

• Good level of detail
• Consider formal adaptation of plan
• Could PolicyLink recommend Façade program rules
• Concerned that staff is willing to use eminent domain as a threat
• We should ramp up and try to get Coliseum redevelopment money
• Danny Wan may be a good advocate for getting Coliseum redevelopment money
• Test case project in the Coliseum
• If zoning is changed, Michelle could use back lots for something other than housing
• Michelle has master plan for building single-story rehab—but does not include back lots
• We should put something in front of community facilities committee