Sanford commission to rebid downtown Opportunity Site; staff to pre-market to private capital

Sanford — City staff recommended rebidding the downtown Opportunity Site request-for-qualifications after a committee review found proposals skewed heavily toward multifamily housing, and commissioners asked staff to return with a narrower scope and a plan to pre‑market to private capital.

Assistant City Manager Craig Bratsack briefed the commission Aug. 25 on the Opportunity Site RFQ covering four downtown parcels: the courthouse parking lot along Hood Avenue; the green space across from Courthouse Park between the Civic Center and the courthouse parking lot; the millings (gravel) parking lot between the Sanford Information Center and the Monroe Hall parking lot; and the Monroe Hall parking structure and adjacent lot. "We received 3 proposals," Bratsack said, and the five-member review committee scored submissions on a 500-point scale; the top submission received 452 points. Two proposals were heavily weighted to housing and one included a mixed-use parking garage with residential and retail.

Why it matters: the city acquired these parcels to control downtown redevelopment, and commissioners emphasized they want a development that reflects community goals rather than simply accepting whatever the market proposes. Bratsack said the committee recommended rebidding and refining the scope of services — for example, specifying the desired mix of residential units, commercial and retail uses — and presenting those scope changes at a future work session.

Key recommendations and staff concerns: committee and staff members told the commission that rebidding with clearer parameters is likely to yield proposals more aligned with city goals, but they also warned that smaller, parcel-by-parcel solicitations can raise feasibility issues for bidders. Economic development lead Brady (last name not specified in the meeting record) urged pre‑marketing to private-sector capital before formal advertising, saying, "We have private dollars calling us all the time," and recommending outreach to equity partners able to provide a 20–30% investment portion of a capital stack. Brady noted the city lacks $12 million to build a parking garage and that an equity partner or creative financing would be necessary if the commission expects one to be part of a development.

Phasing and site-specific tradeoffs: several commissioners supported starting with the millings (gravel) lot as a first phase. One commissioner said, "Let's do the one lot because we sort of ... have sort of a vision of what that looks like," recommending a phased approach to limit permitting and utility constraints. Staff cautioned that smaller parcels increase permitting, utility and flood‑mitigation complexity; a staff member noted that mitigation, foundation and utility work can make small lots less attractive and that larger phased projects may be more feasible for developers.

Outreach and next steps: staff proposed two pathways: (1) rebid with a more detailed scope and return to a future work session for commission direction; or (2) give commissioners electronic access to the full proposals (some exceed 90 pages) for individual review. Bratsack and economic development recommended pre‑marketing to private equity and national developers (for example, national real-estate capital firms) in advance of public solicitation to broaden the pool of respondents. Commissioners directed staff to prepare a concrete proposal that would include refined scope options and a pre‑marketing strategy; staff said they would consult commercial brokers and return with recommendations.

What was not decided: the commission did not vote to sell, subdivide, or adopt a disposition plan at the work session. No contract awards were made. The commission asked staff to develop an RFQ revision and recruitment plan for a future meeting.

Ending: The discussion closed with staff agreeing to draft options and to engage commercial brokers and capital partners as part of a pre‑marketing effort. Commissioners said they want a mix that could include fee‑simple (owner-occupied) units as well as mixed-use and structured parking if financing is feasible. "We need an equity partner that is willing to have skin in the game," Brady said.