fresno elections 2008

Forrest City’s South Stadium Project presents a great opportunity for the city to create new life in the downtown area. To be able to bring a mixed-use project of this magnitude with hundreds of units of housing will do wonders for revitalization efforts. Additionally, the project could attract as much as $500 million in private investment. Whether we use tax-exempt bonds, grants or contribute city property, we need to move forward with the project. Once I have an opportunity to review the full details of the deal, I will be in a better position to say how much the city should invest.

NO.

Absolutely the city should give forest city a break. Additionally, we should everything we possibly can to get Donald Trump back in town. However, on the back end there would be some major commitments from these developers to improve our national status and once again a Destination Location...in the form of tourist attractions, educational touring events, etc.

Forest City’s proposed south stadium project would have a profound impact on the resurrection of downtown. I have met with Forest City officials and I am familiar with their proposed project and the overall plan for the area. The fact that Forest City, one of the largest retail developers in the country, is showing an interest in our downtown area should provide an incentive for both the private and public sectors to offer their support. Their mixed use development offers over 650 residential units including rentals and single family homes for sale. This is the missing component in downtown today. I have heard estimates of up to $99 million to cover the cost of the infrastructure improvements to make this project go forward. In a time when government revenues are declining this will be a challenge. It will be no easy sale to the taxpayers of Fresno. We have a legacy of failed projects. We cannot, however, retreat from taking future risks is there are substantial rewards. As a businessman I know that you have to make investments and there is never a certainty of the outcome. What is needed is a careful analytical study of this project and its fiscal impact on both downtown and the entire city. Ultimately, the potential return on investment must be sufficient to justify the costs and risks. We cannot borrow ourselves into a sea of debt with an uncertain revenue stream. I believe the solution will be a combination of State and Federal assistance and local bond financing to cover the anticipated costs.

The question I ask is why are we discussing this now? When the City granted Forest City the exclusive rights to develop the designated property instead of the proposals of any other developers or of any individual property owners, surely they should have done so with all the facts before them about what Forest City was willing to invest and what the City was willing to invest. I believe we need to completely change the way we do business at City Hall. And, a good place to start is to reopen all exclusive rights developer agreements and to, together, discuss costs, investments of all parties, timelines, etc. and, of course, to do so with maximum community and stakeholder input. Barring that, the City could help defray parts of costs in public use areas, but most certainly should not be willing to invest solely in that redevelopment project over all others, current or future.

Forest City project for the South of Stadium Project intends to house 2000 people downtown and would be largest investment in downtown housing in a generation. As a result, the city should work closely with Forest City and consider providing the necessary City infrastructure to make the project happen. Currently, the City is in discussion and analysis with Forest City to determine how much the City infrastructure will cost and what the City’s contribution may be.

The city has already carried some of the expense of Forest City’s project by paying for staff work and studies. At this point it’s up to Forest City to implement its project with private investment.

In general, I believe the City should be willing to help defray the cost of infrastructure to incentivize downtown redevelopment. I believe those investment decisions should be based on well-thought-out criteria and locally adopted policy. Unfortunately, the City of Fresno does not have a policy or clearly defined priorities in place to guide investment decisions like the one proposed by Forest City. The first step should be to develop policy and then evaluate Forest City’s proposal against the investment criteria set forth in the policy. This approach will take a little more work up front by our elected officials and staff, but it will serve the City and our downtown redevelopment plans well down the road. We have very limited resources for these efforts. We must do everything we can to make sure we get the greatest possible (and measurable) impact from our investments.

The city should first see if we can secure federal and state grants. Forest City is one of the most successful companies in the U.S. in helping rebuild downtowns. The cost is $237 million for the project. Forest City has asked Fresno to pitch in $99 million. I think we should exhaust every effort in finding the money in grants.

Yes. While the Forest City project represents a major investment in downtown, we must be certain to finance the project in way that doesn’t freeze funding for other downtown projects.