CRA staff told the board on Sept. 30 that community outreach for the West Atlantic master-plan amendment (the “set transformation plan”) has drawn strong public attendance and will continue with a final outreach workshop Oct. 9 at Pompey Park, ahead of a planned December draft for board consideration.

At the same meeting staff also previewed a draft request for proposals for development of the Southwest 600 block (the 600 block of West Atlantic). The RFP centers on bringing a community-oriented full-service grocery and public parking to the block and asks proposers to include a letter of intent from a prospective grocer within four months of proposal due date.

Why it matters: Downtown residents and leaders have long sought a grocery option in the core of downtown. The RFP, if issued, would be designed to attract developers who can deliver a grocery (staff used 20,000 square feet as a baseline in the draft) along with parking and complementary retail or services. The CRA discussed incentives, land-lease versus sale, and whether to require or make optional a multilevel parking structure.

Christine Tibbs, assistant director, summarized the outreach process with consultant Inspire Placemaking Collective and said public meetings in May, August and the most recent session drew large, consistent turnout. “The 3 Public Outreach meetings have been very well attended by members of the community, both residents and businesses,” Tibbs said; staff hopes to present a draft amendment to the board in December for final action and then take it to the city.

On the RFP specifics, staff said the draft calls for a “community-oriented full-service grocery store” and defined a working baseline as a retail operation of no less than 20,000 square feet selling fresh produce, meat, dairy and other staple items. The draft asks proposers either to include a parking structure or to describe a parking solution that meets the grocery’s and public’s needs; board members debated whether to require multilevel parking (which increases capacity but raises construction cost and may be unpopular with some grocers) or to leave parking as an option for proposers.

Board members also discussed allowable building height and step-back design. The draft currently limits street-facing building massing to three stories, though commissioners said the zoning code allows four stories in the CBD and urged flexibility so proposers can maximize leasable area while employing stepbacks to protect adjacent neighborhoods.

The RFP would make CRA incentives available — including a land-lease/land-value investment program and development infrastructure assistance — and ask proposers to describe financial structure, fiscal impact and community benefits. Staff also noted an earlier effort to hire a commercial real-estate consultant to assist outreach to grocery prospects; the board asked staff to return with a scope and cost estimate for hiring a consultant to perform market outreach and developer due diligence.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the RFP language with legal counsel, continue the West Atlantic outreach schedule (Oct. 9) and return to the board with a clean RFP and options for potential consultant assistance. The board did not vote to issue the RFP on Sept. 30 and several commissioners recommended waiting for final plan-amendment language before releasing the solicitation.