City staff previews certification request for 'Baby Veil Village' redevelopment after finding majority-abandoned structure
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Summary
City presenter Sanfonduras said the 'Baby Veil Village' redevelopment is an $18.4 million investment and that $10.25 million of expenditures qualify under the abandoned-building statute; staff will seek formal certification at a future public meeting to enable developer credits.
Mr. Sanfonduras briefed the council on a proposed redevelopment known in the presentation as "Baby Veil Village," describing it as an $18,400,000 capital reinvestment and saying the project appears to meet statutory standards for abandoned-building certification. "Greatfully, it's undergoing a $18,400,000 new capital investment to completely reimagine it," he said, and added that "Dollars 10,250,000.00 are clearly qualified expenditures under the statute or certification for abandoned building and abandoned building sites."
Sanfonduras said affidavits show eight units—more than 80% of the structure—have been abandoned for over five years, which is a threshold referenced in the certification process. He said the next public meeting will include a formal request to certify the property, which would allow the developer identified in the presentation, MPOX 505 Greenville LLC (and an individual named in the remarks), to monetize certain redevelopment credits as part of financing the project.
Councilmembers and attendees raised neighborhood concerns and discussed prior controversy over proposals they described as much larger in scale. Several participants welcomed that this investor-led redevelopment appeared to be a better fit than earlier, taller proposals; council members also asked staff to assist in locating or retaining existing small businesses affected by redevelopment, including a local Chinese restaurant referenced in discussion.
A council member said, "Without objection, this will be on our March agenda for consideration," signaling the staff certification request will be scheduled for a forthcoming formal agenda and public hearing. No certification vote occurred at the work session; the presentation served as a staff briefing ahead of the formal public process.
Next steps identified in the discussion include placing the certification on the formal agenda for public consideration and continuing outreach to neighborhood stakeholders and affected commercial tenants.