7.2. HRSR 07-28-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Memo to BRA July 28,2003 Page 4 • Once the building is completed,the project proposes to provide 52 underground stalls. This will provide adequate spaces for the commercial tenants (50) during the day when the residential tenants are gone. The number of spaces required for the residential units are 80 based on 2.5 spaces per unit. Bluff Block Construction of the Bluff Block will result in the removal of the parking stalls at Nadeau's and U.S. Bank. The total number of stalls to be removed will be 29 private parking stalls with no impact to those stalls located on the street. Once completed,the Bluff Block building will provide 70 underground stalls for residential and commercial tenants. Again,the 50 stalls required for the commercial tenants are met. The residential tenants require 130 spaces based on 2.5 spaces per unit. Temporary Parking During construction, staff has identified 17 additional stalls created by diagonally striping the north side of Main Street on a temporary basis. Currently,there are 34 parallel parking spaces along the north side of Main Street. Fifty-one stalls will be provided during construction on a temporary basis with diagonal striping. This will replace a portion of the 39 stalls to be removed during construction of the Jackson Square block. Staff completed a parking survey during the week of July 21 at different periods in time to determine the number of available public spaces. The results of those surveys are attached. In general,the number of space available exceeded 50 on a regular basis, and there were a number • of spaces available on the street or in Jackson Square. Long-Term Parking Solution A way to resolve the perceived shortage of public parking in the long term would be to remove the Utilities building and to close King Avenue's access from Highway 10, or at a minimum, reduce the King Avenue access to a right-in only from eastbound Highway 10. The closure of King Avenue and the removal of the Utilities building will result in 44 additional parking stalls being constructed within the downtown area, enough to replace the 21 parking spaces at Jackson Square. Financing Assistance There has been concern expressed by downtown business owners regarding "low income housing". The Jackson Square block will be a rental project and the developer is pursuing deferred payment loans from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Employment and Economic Development in order to close the financing gap that exists in the vitalization project. As a result,the rental rates must be "affordable" and therefore,will be set at $600 per month for the one-bedroom units and$700 per month for the two-bedroom units. This is not substantially higher than the current rental rates charged for the units in Nadeau's which are $500 per month for a two-bedroom, $450 per month for a one-bedroom unit. The annual income limits for these units will be $32,200 to $46,020 for anyone renting these units. This is the equivalent of a person making$15.48 to $22.13 per hour. The term of the deferred loan is 30 years, at which time the amount provided to the project will need to be paid back by • the developer. S:\PL.ANNING\Michele McPherson\MEMOS\7-28 DT memo HRA.doc