Fate Of 2 Prime Downtown Clearwater Properties To Be Decided By Voters

CLEARWATER, FL — The city of Clearwater will host a series of public information sessions on the Nov. 8 ballot referendum asking voters to approve the sale of two city-owned downtown properties including the 2.6-acre former Clearwater City Hall site and the 1.43-acre former Harborview events center property.

Mayor Frank Hibbard will give an overview of the ballot question, discuss the financial aspects of the development project and answer audience questions.

The meetings will take place:

• Monday, Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Morningside Recreation Center, 2400 Harn Blvd.
• Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Countryside Library, 2642 Sabal Springs Drive
• Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Clearwater Main Library, 100 N. Osceola Ave.
• Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. North Greenwood Recreation Center, 900 N. MLK Jr. Ave.

It's a subject that the Clearwater City Council has spent eight years debating, and now council members are ready to let the voters make the ultimate decision.

The two properties sit next to the 22-acre Coachman Park, the Imagine Clearwater waterfront park that is undergoing $84 million in renovations.

"We have two spectacular pieces of property," Mayor Frank Hibbard said.

Both sites are located on a bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor and the council agreed that the right kind of development on the properties would kickstart the redevelopment of downtown Clearwater.

“We want downtown to stand on its own and to carry its weight,” Hibbard said. “We’ve made this public investment of $84 million in Imagine Clearwater. The next step is starting to utilize the bluff. This is a lynchpin in downtown’s redevelopment.”

The council put out two requests for proposals this year for developers to submit ideas for the properties.

The first proposals were thrown out by the council because they failed to meet the criteria for a vibrant mix-use development that would include apartments, a hotel, commercial space, including restaurants and cafes, and an event space.

The council also wanted to ensure that the project enhanced the natural attributes of the two city properties while integrating with the Imagine Clearwater project.

Up against a deadline to receive, review and select a proposal to present to voters in time for the general election, the council put out a second request for proposals, cutting the usual 90-day submission period to 30 days.

Despite the short notice, the city received proposals from three nationally respected companies.

Councilman David Albritton said he thought any of the three proposals would do justice to the properties.

"All of the submittals this time were significantly superior to anything we saw before," said Hibbard. "I was not impressed with any of the proposals in the first round."

A workshop held in July to discuss the proposals attracted the interest of both former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman,

"This is an important project for this community," Buckhorn said. "It's Clearwater’s time. This project that you’re undertaking and the investment you have made as a government will change the game as you know it in this city. It is a moment that you don’t want to miss. But I also think it is a process that needs to withstand public scrutiny."

Of the three, Buckhorn said he favored the Elevate Clearwater proposal submitted by Channelside development Ken Stoltenberg, the ECI Group, Smart City Group and Solaris. The proposal included a jazz-themed hotel on the Harborview site and a single-tower residential and retail building on the old city hall site. Buckhorn noted that Elevate Clearwater developers promised to complete the project within three years, as opposed to the other two proposals which estimated a six-year buildout.

However, Hibbard said he thought the Gotham Group's Bluffs Project took a more innovative approach. He said he especially liked the fact that the developer included "view corridors" that would allow the harbor to be seen while driving down Osceola Avenue.

"You want to actually be able to see the water when you drive down Osceola," he said. "It's important for us to maintain access to water physically and visually."

While he said the concept of a jazz-themed hotel with music memorabilia and a collaboration with the longtime signature event, Clearwater Jazz Festival, was interesting, he didn't feel the project's art deco style integrated well with the city's architecture.

Councilwoman Kathleen Beckman agreed, noting that the Bluffs Project includes workforce housing and was less of a financial risk for the city because it has the backing of financial services giants Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan.

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Even though the buildout will take longer, Albritton said he, too, favored the Bluffs Project because it offered more housing — 600 units as opposed to 388.

"It will take longer but I'm willing to wait to see that it's done right," he said.

"This is the first time that I’ve been excited about the real prospects of turning around the downtown,” council member Mark Bunker said. "I hope that the folks of Clearwater will be excited to see that this can and will work.”

City Manager Jon Jennings said the Bluff Project was also the choice of the city's review committee.

"We felt they brought forward a visionary and holistic approach in integrating Imagine Clearwater and creating view corridors that are essential for the public. It’s a more sensitive approach, he said.

Additionally, the hotel planned for the Harborview site would include a 1,000-seat event space, "which is needed in the city," he said. "We believe it’s a sustainable project that will radically change and improve our bluff area."

The Bluffs Proposal includes the development of a 13-story, 150-room hotel with 15,000 square feet of retail, a boutique conference center for 1,000 people, a 2,000-square-foot events center and a rooftop restaurant and beer garden on the Harborview site. Meanwhile, the former City Hall site would have two 27-story towers with a combined total of 600 rental units.

The Bluffs developer said it is negotiating with several restaurant groups including the Volet Hospitality Group, owners of Allelo and 400 Beach Seafood & Taproom in St. Petersburg, Sea Dog Brewing Co., Green Bench Brewing introductory letter listed several restaurants and retail partners, including John and Trudy Cooper of Oak & Ola.

The council and the Gotham Group were able to hammer out a development agreement that includes purchasing the City Hall site for $15.4 million and the Harborview Center for $9.3 million.

The city would offer developer incentives, $1.5 million toward impact fees to be paid for by the Community Redevelopment Agency, the creation of a special downtown tax district, up to $2 million to split the cost of a pedestrian bridge and $22 million for two underground parking garages to be paid from the city’s parking fund.

But, ultimately, it's up to the voters to decide.

Under the city's charter, the two city-owned properties can't be sold without the approval of voters.