Council asks staff to draft RFP options for 205 Madison waterfront parcel after community input

The Albany City Council directed staff to prepare a draft request-for-proposals (RFP) or a mock-up RFP for the city-owned property at 205 Madison — a roughly one-acre parcel in the waterfront (WF) zone — after hearing results from a March 6 community conversation and council discussion.

Staff said the parcel, acquired through a settlement with the railroad, is zoned WF and was appraised in February 2022 at $415,000, with a Linn County assessed value of $231,000. At the March 6 community conversation staff convened, residents most often suggested additional public parking, small play areas or expansion of the nearby community garden; there was not strong support for additional housing on that parcel.

Council discussion emphasized several themes: some councilors supported options that would provide public parking or open space to benefit nearby businesses and neighbors, while others warned that building parking without an on-site revenue source would typically require the city itself to construct and maintain such parking. Staff described ways to incentivize public benefits by lowering sale price or structuring development to include commercial uses above parking, and said an RFP could set clear priorities (parking, community garden space, small commercial footprint or mixed use) and ranking criteria for proposals.

Councilors asked staff to draft a proposed RFP based on community input and return to council for review before declaring surplus or proceeding to a formal disposal process. Councilors also discussed partitioning the parcel into smaller lots to make parts of it accessible to neighborhood groups, but staff cautioned partitions add survey and recording costs (estimated $10,000 to $15,000) and suggested development agreements or RFP criteria could achieve similar outcomes.

Staff will bring a draft RFP or scenario options back to council for review prior to any surplus declaration or sale.