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Council supports outreach-first approach and developer engagement for Wythe site
Summary
Council members favored consulting preservation experts and involving neighborhood associations while also pursuing developer outreach (developer days) so proposals reflect both technical feasibility and community preferences; some councilmembers urged that developers be solicited first to generate concepts while others warned to avoid moving ahead without clear neighborhood input.
Council members spent substantial time debating how to sequence community outreach and developer solicitation for the Wythe Fire Station site. Several members, including Councilwoman Mugler and Vice Mayor Brown, said they favored inviting developers with relevant historic-rehabilitation experience to produce concepts and hold developer days similar to the Vanguard project, then using those concepts to inform community conversations.
Councilwoman Farrabee and others cautioned that a strong RFI/RFP requires a clearer vision before solicitation. "I would like to see you move down the path of getting some developers that have that expertise with that type of building first," Farrabee said, while also stressing the need to weave in neighborhood input. The city manager recommended a dual path: consult a historic preservationist, hold developer outreach, and keep neighborhood groups informed so the RFQ/RFI can explicitly rule out unacceptable uses.
Council members emphasized structured community engagement and repeated that no demolition decision would be made at this meeting. Vice Mayor Brown urged outreach that is "structured versus having a community meeting and nobody showed up," stressing ongoing communication to secure neighborhood buy-in. Staff said they could require community outreach as part of future solicitation if council desires and will return with an outreach plan.
