The Office of Planning and Economic Development (OPED) and building/code staff outlined ongoing and proposed development work and described a reorganization intended to better align zoning enforcement with planning and neighborhood services.

Tim Sheehan, chief development officer, reported multiple downtown and neighborhood projects advancing, including an interior-start for the McCaffrey (South Main) development, work to acquire and redevelop the former Chicken Building, and plans to integrate a parking garage to reduce surface parking in the State-to-Union corridor. Sheehan described work on projects around the Paramount and on the former Viber site; he said the city continues to evaluate feasibility, including liens and title issues.

Sheehan said one of the office's modest operating changes is shifting the zoning administrator and two zoning inspectors from the building department to OPED to improve coordination with planning and neighborhood outreach. He said the change is intended to make code enforcement at the zoning level "more aligned with the concerns that are coming out of the 17 neighborhoods of the city."

On federal funding, Sheehan said CDBG and HOME programs were included at level funding in the federal continuing resolution at the time of the hearing, providing short-term certainty for those federal grants.

Why it matters: the presentation connects capital projects to neighborhood activation efforts and explains an organizational change meant to boost coordination between planning and enforcement. Sheehan and councilors also discussed the city's attention to small neighborhood projects alongside large downtown developments.

Attribution: quotes and project details come from Tim Sheehan and OPED remarks during the hearing. The transcript includes a remark that the Viber site had a lien of about "$10,000,000" which OPED said affects redevelopment options.