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CRA staff reports brownfield discovery on Fourteenth Street, multimodal streetscape planning, public art updates and market analysis timeline
Summary
CRA staff reported that a property on Fourteenth Street under contract for sale is an unremediated brownfield and that staff has solicited consultants to pursue designation and remediation at an estimated cost of about $20,000.
CRA staff briefed the board on several project updates, including a brownfield finding at the Fourteenth Street property under contract for sale, plans for multimodal streetscape conceptual work connecting Lecom Field to downtown, and other planning and art initiatives across the CRA districts.
Dr. Burton (CRA staff) said that during the sales process the Fourteenth Street property was discovered to be a brownfield that requires designation and remediation. Staff solicited two consultants—one CCNA and one attorney experienced in Florida brownfield work—and recommended proceeding with a consultant (named in the packet) to pursue designation at an estimated cost of about $20,000. Dr. Burton said the developer is experienced with brownfield remediation and will perform remediation work; staff said they will reconcile remediation costs at closing. Staff said they will seek City Council coordination as required by the process.
Dr. Burton also reported the CRA is tracking the Mini Lee Rogers site and that city-side discussions about garbage pickup may move to City Council. He said the CRA had a productive meeting with Village of the Arts (VOTA) representatives and collected signed petitions supporting conceptual multimodal streetscape work to better connect Lecom Field with downtown and to create east–west connections along MLK Boulevard. Applied Sciences (consultant) has been asked to prepare conceptual estimates; staff said the current work can proceed under the CCNA for conceptual design but that formal engineering will require a separate procurement process.
Staff announced the CRA will cancel the SUFA signs contract, citing limited benefit. The Fourteenth Street Village of the Arts green property will be used for a prototype project—short-term street parking, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and low-impact stormwater features (bioswales)—to demonstrate improvements that could be replicated across the Village of the Arts.
The Mineral Springs public art project will be relocated slightly to avoid undoing recent park work; staff and the architect (John Toddy) are finalizing the new siting and will report designs at a future meeting. Staff said all three CRAs will soon receive a general market analysis and that a consultant will provide homestead and non-homestead property statistics for planning purposes.
Staff reiterated that sales-tax savings on affordable-housing construction materials will be pursued for a forthcoming workforce housing project; Dr. Burton said the project qualifies as workforce housing and estimated a roughly $20 million development that would benefit from those construction-related sales-tax provisions.
Board members asked questions about the brownfield (Dr. Burton described the historic presence of a kerosene tank at the site), and staff said the brownfield scope is not expected to be large and that remediation should not slow the project. Staff said they will keep the board informed as the designation and remediation process proceeds.
