SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve the First Amendment to Contract for Sale of City-Owned Vacant Land between the City of Clearwater and Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County, Inc./Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. for real property located at 1454 South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
Body
SUMMARY:
The City of Clearwater posted RFP/Q #43-22 as an opportunity for a developer to acquire and develop city-owned property located at 1454 South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue for use as affordable and workforce housing (Pinellas County Property I.D. #22-29-15-00000-320-1300). On December 1, 2022, Council authorized staff to negotiate a contract for the sale of real property to Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County, Inc. and Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., together, as the selected Developer of the real property located at 1454 South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. On June 13, 2023, Council approved a contract for sale of city-owned vacant land.
Per the contract, the development shall be consistent with Buyer’s response to City of Clearwater RFP/Q 43-22. The Buyer shall construct 24 units of mixed-income, owner-occupied townhomes with 50% of the units reserved for households with total household income up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the remaining 50% will be reserved for household with total household income up to 120% of AMI.
The Buyers response to RFP 43-22 identified a $1,240,170 cash gap in addition to the requested donation of the property, therefore Exhibit B of the contract specifies the City agrees to commit to the donation of the parcel, valued at $525,000 and a contribution of an additional $357,585 for a total direct subsidy of $882,585 (half of the total direct subsidy identified as required in the response). The Buyer will seek funding from Pinellas County for the remaining gap (presumably $882,585).
Additional requirements provided by Exhibit B establishes terms and conditions that Buyer must meet prior to and after closing. Per the exhibit, all pre-development activities must be completed prior to closing including, but not limited to, funding commitments, site approval and building permits.
Unforeseen development challenges that have pushed the original proposed timeline include the requirement of an easement for stormwater discharge onto neighboring property (Norton Apartments), a depression on the southwest quadrant of the property that was flagged by South West Florida Water Management District required additional investigation and historical review, construction debris found on the property required further investigation and the development of a mitigation plan and secondary access required by Clearwater Fire during the site plan review process which in turn required the Buyer to negotiate secondary access with Norton Apartments. Due to these challenges, the Buyers have not procured approval for their site plan, which is a requirement for closing. Closing was to occur 365 days after the contract’s effective date unless both parties agreed to a 60-day extension which was executed in June, 2024. The site plan is scheduled to be reviewed by the Community Development Board on August 8th, 2024. Staff recommends an extension of the original contract’s closing date to on or before December 31st, 2024, to allow the Buyer more time to complete the pre-development activities indicated in Exhibit “B” of the Contract
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Funding is to be provided by State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program and Revenue Recovery Funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act - Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. No General Fund monies will be appropriated.
USE OF RESERVE FUNDS:
N/A
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
Objective 2.4 - Supports equitable housing programs that promote household stability and reduces the incidence of Homelessness within Clearwater.
