Loading...
LTC 175-2003 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH Office of the City Manager Letter to Commission No. /?.~-~..F To: Mayor David Dermer and Date: July 24, 2003 Members of the City Commission From: Subject: Jorge M. Gonzalez \, ~ City Manager A'" ~ ALTERNATE SITE FOR THE NEW WORLD SYMPHONY The City Clerk's office received the attached letter from David Kelsey, South Beach Hotel and Restaurant Association, on July 22 requesting placement of an item, on the above subject, on the July 30, 2003 City Commission Agenda. The Administration reviewed the materials with Mr. Kelsey. Because a public hearing has been scheduled for the July 30, 2003 Commission meeting, at 10:00 a.m. to discuss a Development Agreement between the City of Miami Beach and the New World Symphony, it was decided that the information would be transmitted to the City Commission, via an L.T.C., and Mr. Kelsey could present his materials at the public hearing. The information is being transmitted to the City Commission for review. JMG\REP c: Christina Cuervo Attachment: Letter dated July 22, 2003, from David Kelsey, South Beach Hotel and Restaurant Association. F:\CLER\CLER\FORMS\KelseyNWS.Itc. doc July 22nd, 2003 ' $out._k Beach Hotel and Restaurant Association 407 Ltnco~l,n Road - Suite # 12H - Miami Beach, Florida 33139 U3~/'I// rnone (305) 673-0440 Fax (305) 673-9910 t,. ~' - c ..... - e-mail: sbhotels~belisout h.net .~,/]-) '~ u/:'£ /CF HAND DELIVER Robert Parcher City Clerk City of Miami Beach Request to be Placed on the July 30th Commission Agenda. To Be Heard In Conjunction with 10 AM Time Certain Item Re: Lease of 17' Street Parking to New World Symphony. Subject: Recommendation for Alternate Site for New World Symphony Expansion Dear Mr. Parcher; I am requesting that an item be added to the July 30~ Commission Agenda, which should be heard in conjunction with, and prior to, a vote on the proposed Lease of the 17* Street parking lots to the New World Symphony, which I understand has been given a time certain of 10 AM. It is my further understanding that the proposed Lease to the New World may be heard in conjunction with the 1't reading ora proposed Development Agreement between the city and the New World Symphony, which is directly related to the proposed Lease. The item I wish to present to the Commission will be a recommendation for an Alternate Site for the New World Symphony expansion. It is very important that this presentation of an Alternate Site precede any vote on either the Development Agreement or the proposed Lease. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Sincerely, David K~ C: Mayor David Dermer Frank Del Vecchio The 17ta Street Parking Lots A Review of the Proposed Lease to New World Symphony (NWS), and Recommendations for Consideration of an Alternate Site. The Following is a Summary of the Proposed Lease and an Analysis of the Benefits to the City and the Benefits to the New World Symphony re: the Alternate Site: (Note: The Alternate Site Recommended is the City Owned Surface Parking Lot at the NE Corner of 17a Street and Convention Center Drive.) The Prooosed NWS Site and It's Current Use: The site originally proposed for the NWS expansion is on the two surface parking lots owned by the city, which are located on the south side of 174 Street, bordered by Washington Avenue on the east, and Pennsylvania Avenue on the west. These lots currently park 505 cars and generate over $1.3 million dollars annually in net parking revenue to the city; further, these lots have been identified as an ideal site for a future 2000 car parking garage deemed critical to serving the city's growing parking needs. As proposed, the NWS would pay the city $1 per year for a 95 year Lease, a loss of revenue to the city in excess of $120 million dollars. In addition, overall costs to the city in accommodating the NWS expansion have been estimated by the city to be at least $20 million dollars, including $6.2 million dollars for the replacement of the 505 parking spaces that would be eliminated by the NWS project. Note: There is strong opposition from the business communily, and others, as. 1o lhe loss' of lhese valuable centrally localed parking lots', and lhe revenue they now generale. The Prouosed Use by N-WS: As originally proposed, the west parking lot (at Pennsylvania) would be used by NWS for a new studio building and a parking garage (with ground floor retail required); the east parking lot (at Washington) would be converted for use as a park. The park would be used in conjunction with the NWS studio for large screen outdoor video presentations. (Recent discussions have given rise to consideration ufa possible switch in which the studio and garage would be relocated fi.om the west lot to the east lot.) As currently proposed, the city would pay for the construction of the park and for its maintenance. Note: there is strong concern from the business community, and others, as to the abili(y of the city to maintain the park atwl keep it from becoming a (Ttomeless) nuisance. Drexel Avenue: The two 174. Street parking lots are divided by Drexel Avenue, which the city wishes to retain. However, the NWS would like to have the street removed and incorporate the land into its project. Note: lhere is' opposition from the bus#tess communily lo Ihe removal of Drexel ~4 venue. The Proposed Alternate Site for NWS Expansion: An Alternate Site for the proposed NWS expansion is bein,~ proposed. It is the city owned surface parking lot located at the NE corner of 17'" Street and Convention Center Drive, across the street from City Hall. This site currently has 101 parking spaces. Benefits of the Alternate Site: The use of the Alternate Site for the NWS expansion has significant benefits to both the city and the NWS, including eliminating much of the opposition to the NWS expansion. First, the use of the Alternate Site would eliminate the controversy over the loss of the two 17th Street parking lots, both as to the loss of the 505 parking spaces convenient to Lincoln Road and the Gleason Theatre, and as to the loss of the substantial revenue to the ci.tym these lots now generate. Additionally, the use of the Alternate Site would allow the 17 Street lots to be preserved for the city's futur~ ~-~ m-~j~rr c~n~. Second, the use of the Alternate Site would eliminate the need for the city to provide replacement parking (and the delays to NWS that this construction would cause), as the city is already contemplating the construction of a city parking garage on the parking lots to the west of City Hall, which would be sufficient to make-up for the loss of parking on the Alternate Site. This would result in a savings to the ciw of $6.2 million dollars. Third, the NWS would also benefit because it would no longer need to incorporate a parking garage and retail space into its building design, which would allow its architect to focus exclusively on the needs of the NWS facility. By eliminating the garage and retail space, the NWS would benefit by a significant reduction in its construction costs, hard and soft, as well as in eliminating its responsibility for all costs exceeding the city's fixed contribution of $12,500 per garage space, which could easily exceed $1 million dollars. By eliminating the garage, the NWS would also benefit by gaining an earlier completion date for its facility. Fourth, by using the Alternate Site, and not using the 17t~ Street parking lots, the controversy over the removal of Drexel Avenue, and the concern over the construction and maintenance of a park on the east lot, would be eliminated, as would the cost to the city of removing the street and building the park (part of the estimated $20 million dollar cost to the city); as a result, the city would save approx. $14 million dollars. The NWS would also benefit by saving the cost (estimated at $1 million dollars) of relocating the underground utilities on the current site, which they had agreed to pay. Lastly, and perhaps the most significant consideration, is the compelling benefit, both to the city and to the NWS, that the Alternate Site presents in providing a far better location for an architecturally significant building, such as is promised by the Frank Ghery design. Additional Considerations in Support of the Alternate Site: The Boat Show: In past years the Boat Show has used the 17t~ Street parking lots for staging during their move-in and set-up, and there is no near-by alternate location for them to use. By relocating the NWS expansion to the Alternate Site, continued booking of the Convention Center by the Boat Show would not be jeopardized. The Botanical Gardens: The Zyscovich Master Plan proposed that the Botanical Gardens be relocated to the 17th Street and Convention Center Drive NE comer location (the Alternate Site proposed for the NWS expansion). However the Botanical Gardens Directors objected to the relocation, and as a result, the relocation of the Botanical Gardens was vetoed by the City Commission. This left a major hole in the Zyscovich plan. Exposed Loading Docks: The 17th Street and Convention Center Drive NE comer lot (the Alternate Site) is a prominent location, but without a building on it, it leaves the loading docks of the Convention Center and the loading docks of the Gleason Theatre exposed to view, and they are unsightly. The use of this prominent comer lot as the location for the NWS expansion cures this problem and provides an ideal location for the proposed Frank Ghery building. Further, as the NWS facility will also need a loading dock, it could be located at the rear of the new NWS building, across from the Convention Center's loading dock, where it would be out of sight, and could share truck access with the Convention Center and the Gieason. 17m Street and Convention Center Drive NE Comer Lot is No Longer Needed for Parkinm When the city purchased the Equity One property (on the west side of city hall), it gained an additional parking lot, that when added to its existing west side parking lot, provides sufficient land for the construction ora city parking garage directly adjacent to City Hall. This assemblage eliminated the need for a garage, or surface parking, on the 17~h and Convention Center Drive NE site. While I, and others, have expressed strong reservations about the giveaway of public land, especially the 17th Street parking lots, I nevertheless think that relocating the NWS expansion to this Alternate Site would be an acceptable compromise. Respectfully submitted by: David Kelsey July ] 7a', :2003 Gehry'.s Disneyland admini_s._tration building, Anahe'.u~n, Calif. '.~! :..- :'i.: ~-: - .... - .' .i.-.:?~ ' ~i .. ..... i~':~.'.~.:.~..~:;~,.).':...?. :i~:. ~tZ..,:~i~' '" Fr~'nk'Ge~¢g N&~i°naleiN'ed~ri~i~d~r~btiilding, Prague, _ ' -i LOCATION OF BlEW WORLD SOUNDSTAGE (WITH GARAGE) AS PROPOSED BY ZYSCOVICH EXISTING CITY PARKING LOT (ALTERNATE SITE) ' '~ '-"' 2j GARAGE , (720 SPACES) "'~'~' LOCATION ._... AS PROPOSED FOR NEW WORLD SOUNDSTAGE (WITHOUT GARAGE) m _a, ~'~ ~li:'