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City Picks Onyx and Thrive as Preferred Developers for Town-Center RFP; LOI and CDRA Meeting Next
Summary
Cottonwood Heights staff announced a preliminary award to a development team led by Onyx Development and Thrive Development for the town-center RFP; the city expects to sign a letter of intent and then consider development-agreement terms in a CDRA closed-session review.
The council introduced principals from the development team preliminarily selected to lead the city’s town-center project and said it will move toward a letter of intent (LOI) and later a development agreement that will be reviewed at a Cottonwood Heights Redevelopment Agency (CDRA) meeting.
Staff said the internal RFP selection committee narrowed proposals and issued a preliminary award letter to a partnership between Onyx Development and Thrive Development. Onyx principal Ken Melby and founding partner Scott Neff introduced themselves and described backgrounds in mixed-use and regional projects; Thrive’s Chaz Johnson and Connor Johnson also described their roles in commercial and multifamily development.
Ken Melby said the team emphasizes placemaking and collaborative design. "This is what development is about...placemaking with an engaged city," Melby said. Developers told council members they have discussed tenant relocation logistics in prior projects and would explore accommodations for existing businesses should a formal LOI and agreement require that.
Council members pressed developers on preserving a local-business character in the town center, tenant affordability and the ability to attract workers to service new businesses. Developers said they would seek a mix of local tenants and possibly one or two regional draws to ensure economic viability, and noted the city’s Fort Union Boulevard master plan and connectivity goals.
The mayor said the city is close to signing an LOI; staff added the next procedural step will include a CDRA meeting (closed session) to discuss business points in the LOI prior to returning to open council meetings with specific terms. No LOI has been signed yet and no development agreement has been executed.
