Politics & Government

Duluth Seeks Revitalization Developers

Duluth City Council, Downtown Development Authority informally agree on ambitious timeline for seeking, selecting developers for retail/entertainment district and residential neighborhood downtown.

With the blessing of the Downtown Development Authority, the City of Duluth plans to proceed with an ambitious timeline for requesting qualifications and selecting developers for a proposed retail and dining district and a high-quality residential neighborhood in two downtown locations.

In a joint work session April 29, the Duluth City Council and the DDA informally agreed to authorize city staff to issue a RFQ (request for qualifications) seeking interested developers. Later, the city would issue an RFP (request for proposals) to qualified developers.

Duluth Planning Director James Riker explained the two-step process and presented the timeline at the joint work session in the Community Room at Duluth City Hall.

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The two locations are generally identified as Parcel A (the Old City Hall Block) for the retail/restaurant district and Parcels B, C, D and E for the residential neighborhood.

Both components are part of the city’s downtown revitalization plans. The city would possibly issue bonds to finance the projects, City Attorney Steven Pereira said.

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The Old City Hall Block, now referred to as “The Block,” contains 2.7 acres, Riker said. The city plans to repurpose rather than demolish and reconstruct buildings in The Block, he said. The city owns almost all the buildings on The Block.

The proposed residential neighborhood includes 12.78 acres bound by Hardy Street, Hill Street, the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and McClure Woods subdivision, Riker said.

Parcel B is the property where a former church is located, and Parcel C is the former Capital Materials site. (Capital Materials has relocated.) About two years ago, the city negotiated right-of-way for a Davenport Road extension through the Capital Materials property, but does not own Parcel C. The vacant church building on Parcel B was relocated for construction of the new Duluth City Hall.

Parcels D and E are privately owned by Eugene Brown, according to Riker.

The residential neighborhood would be “a mix of condos, apartments, townhomes, and single-family residences,” Riker said. Ground-level retail and commercial would be a part of the development as appropriate, he said.

Step 1 of the timeline begins with issuing the RFQ in May 2013 with responses from developers due in June 2013. A short list of qualified developers would be compiled in July 2013.

In Step 2, qualified developers on the short list would be notified in July 2013 and RFPs requested. Responses from developers would be due in September 2013. The developer or developers would be selected in October 2013 followed by execution of an exclusive development agreement (or agreements) in November 2013.

“We’re shooting for next Monday (May 6) for [issuing] the RFQ,” City Manager Tim Shearer said.

Morris & Fellows, a consulting firm hired by the city to develop a master plan for downtown revitalization, is slated to present its report in July, but it may not be ready until August, Riker said.

Depending on their interest and experience, different developers might want to submit qualifications for one or both of the development projects, Pereira said. The city council and the development authority both would need to agree on the final selection of a developer or developers, he said.

Public Financial Management Inc. and Bleakly Advisory Group Inc. provided input on the RFQ and RFP documents to city planning staff.


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