Athens DDA releases draft request for proposals for redevelopment of downtown parking lot (Athens-Clarke County: sales)

[Airforceguy]

Nice to see another parking biting the dust and Downtown Athens getting denser...

The 1-acre parking lot that is the central focus of the RFP, bounded by Strong, Dougherty and Jackson streets and College Avenue in front of Hotel Indigo, generates $63,000 annually in parking revenue. But the move to redevelop the lot is seen, Hamby said Thursday, as an economic development opportunity. Redeveloping the lot could, according to Hamby, bring a diversity of jobs into the downtown area, and like the recent reconfiguration of Dougherty Street from four lanes to two lanes, extend the feel and character of the downtown area northward.
Specifically, the RFP seeks a “master developer” for the redevelopment opportunity, defined as “a developer or entity or entities with the demonstrated experience and financial capability to perform all aspects of the development process, including planning, community involvement, design, development-related negotiations, structuring of private and public financing sources, construction, sales and leasing and ongoing management.”
Hinting at the level of experience the ADDA and the county government expect from a “master developer” and their associated team, the RFP asks for a description of “no more than three relevant projects” in which the developer and team members “have had a significant role.”
The draft RFP goes on to note the ADDA expects “a long-term relationship” with whatever developer or development entity submits any proposal for redeveloping the lot that is ultimately accepted by the ADDA and the Athens-Clarke County mayor and commission.
The ADDA’s expectation for that relationship are that the project will “reach its full potential, measured in terms of growth in research capacity and technology transfer, economic development and job creation, private investment and community stabilization, and return on investment,” according to language in the draft RFP.

ADDA releases draft request for proposals for redevelopment of downtown parking lot | Online Athens