Public and some council members split over Arbor South financing, parking and DS 2

A contentious set of public comments and council communications focused on the financing and structure of the Arbor South development, a mixed-use project planned for the State and Eisenhower transit corridor.

Mayor Alex Lowe, calling in, said he generally supports more housing but opposed a component called DS 2, calling it 'D s 2 is a poison pill' and warning it 'puts the risk onto the city' while profits 'remain in private hands.' Lowe also criticized what he characterized as roughly '$166,000,000' in city bond exposure for parking structures.

Eric Ivanich, calling from Ward 3, praised the project's potential, noted 20% of units are proposed as affordable and described the site as positioned to become a second downtown. Still, Ivanich said he 'cannot support the project as it's currently structured' because the city is expected to 'own, operate, and maintain 3 new parking structures' that would primarily serve the private development, creating what he called a 'moral hazard.' He urged staff and the developer to reshape the plan so public investment serves district-wide infrastructure such as transit, water and sewer.

Council member Disch (public comments/communications) described the project as aligned with the city's 2021 transit corridor (TC1) zoning goals and summarized the financial structure: the developer would invest more than '$400,000,000' while Brownfield tax-increment financing would provide approximately '$346,000,000' in public dollars. Disch described the parking structures as designated 'priority 1' in the brownfield plan and said the structures would be reimbursed through TIF revenue that 'would not exist at all without the new development.'

Council-level discussion and multiple public speakers reflected a split: some neighborhood speakers urged stronger sustainability requirements such as combined geothermal fields and greener construction, and other residents and the mayor cautioned against ceding too much public risk for private profit. The clerk announced that the public hearing specifically tied to the Arbor South Brownfield project (public hearing number 5) was canceled because the related agenda item had been pulled for separate consideration.

What happens next: Council proceeded with other agenda items; the Arbor South brownfield item and related public hearing will be considered separately per the clerk's announcement. Any formal votes on the brownfield plan or DS 2 were not recorded in this transcript excerpt.