THE ATLANTIC & PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT

This week our group will be meeting in the Old Cloverdale neighborhood at the Atlantic & Pacific Development (A&P). The A&P is a mixed use area and was developed by the same group which is developing our semester parcel. Featured at the A&P are a mix of shops, offices, lofts, and detached cottages. We will be bringing a copy of all of the local historic regulations which affect the development.

Cupola Variance

This week our class will request a variance. Specifically, we will be requesting a height variance because we are planning to build a cupola on a two story building. A variance request is not submitted to the Planning Commission, as was the case for a rezoning request. The variance request must be submitted to a different government entity. Check back with us and we will have more information on the exact procedure for requesting a variance.

Rezoning

Last week our class submitted a rezoning request to the Planning Commission. Previously, the semester parcel was zoned as Institutional. We requested the parcel be rezoned to a B-1-a zone, which allows for mixed use including offices, residential, retail, and commercial uses.

Rezoning Request

This week our group will request a rezoning for our Semester Parcel. Right now, the parcel is zoned as B-1-a, which allows for a variety of buildings. The process required for a rezoning includes:
1) submitting a request in writing to the Planning Controls Division, which includes the legal description, fee, site plan, current zoning of property and what you want to rezone the property to;
2) After the request is submitted, there is a public hearing before the Planning Commission. If the request is recommended for approval by the Planning Commission, it will go to the City Council.
3) A hearing is held before the City Council, who has final authority on all rezoning requests.
* If a request is denied by the Planning Commission, you must appeal the decision to the City Council.

This process takes approximately 3 1/2 - 4 months.

Today our group met to discuss the next phase of the project which concerns the hiring of professionals. There are many legal issues to discuss when hiring professionals like architects, surveyors, engineers, and contractors. We have to make sure that these people all have valid licenses and that they agree to a contract that will protect the developers interests. The list of professionals and the legal issues concerning each will be discussed in more detail in the Powerpoint presentation.

Next week our class will start hiring employees to get our redevelopment started. Our group will need to research and hire everything from architects and engineers to plumbers, electricians and physical laborers.

This week our class learned about contracts and letters of intent for our redevelopment. For our presentation, we submitted letters of intent which included price, due dilgence date, and a description of the parcel.
The commercial contract agreement, however, was a bit lengthier. The contract includes clauses for legal description, buyer's remedies, purchase price and method of payment, due diligience, costs at closing, earnest money, possession, choice of law and others all in an effort to ensure that our client is fully protected and has made a good investment.

Biscuit's Stadium Visit

The class visited The Biscuit's stadium on September 10, 2009. There we learned about the enviromental issues that surrounded the construction of this stadium. We used this information as a starting point for understanding the enviromental issues that we may face at the "Semester Parcel."

Yesterday the class visited the "Semester Parcel" in order to visualize the layout of the area. This was incredibly helpful because we were able to see that the property to develop is actually a long strip along Boultier Ave., and then a smaller square along E Fairview Ave. There is a building standing on the strip along Boultier that will most likely need demolishing before development can begin. The age of the building makes it likely that there is asbestos. This will bring additional costs because removal and demolishing a building with asbestos requires expensive procedures. Also we will have to determine what restrictions on the property may exist due to the proximity to housing, churches, and schools.

Group Members

LAND SHARKS

• Michael Long


• Cesar Orantes
  
• Michelle Perez
  
• Josh Stemle


• Andrew Taheri


• Nick Vocino