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Developers negotiate loan-forgiveness change and parklet condition for downtown demolition project
Summary
Council discussed revised terms with owners of 84–88 Main regarding demolition, a required parklet if they donʼt rebuild, and a proposed increase in loan forgiveness from $40,000 to $54,000; staff said failure to meet parklet or timeline conditions could forfeit loan forgiveness.
City staff updated the mayor and council on negotiations with the owners of the downtown properties at 84–88 Main Street about demolition, required mitigation if a replacement building is not constructed, and the structure of a loan-forgiveness incentive tied to demolition and redevelopment.
Staff said the owners declined to subdivide the parcel but were willing to accept a contract provision requiring them either to build or to install a parklet—subject to mayor-and-council approval—within an agreed timeline (the parties discussed a three-year window). If owners do not install an approved parklet within the deadline, staff said they would forfeit their eligibility for loan forgiveness; the forfeiture would be enforced through the loan agreement.
Separately, owners requested an adjustment to the loan-forgiveness terms: they proposed that the city require them to pay approximately $60,000 toward demolition and construction financing and that the city forgive $54,000 of the remaining construction cost at the end of the agreed term. Staff said the original forgiveness amount was $40,000 and that raising the forgiveness amount to $54,000 would require amending the existing agreement and would be subject to council approval at a future meeting.
Council members emphasized the need for strict contractual penalties and clear timelines because prior commitments by the owners had not been completed on time. Staff said they would draft updated agreement language reflecting the three-year parklet timeline, the loan-payment schedule and the conditional forgiveness provisions and would circulate the draft to council members for review before seeking final approval.
