Title
Request to Alter the Boundaries of the Proposed Expansion Area (NB)
Explanation
The College Park University Heights (CPUH) Redevelopment Advisory Board met with HHI Inc., the consultants hired by the City to discuss potential changes to the proposed expansion boundaries of the CPUH district. The consultants had several boundary issues that they wanted to discuss with the Board. After discussion, the Advisory Board decided to recommend two changes to the proposed boundaries. The first change includes enlarging the expansion area to include the property between Southwest 6th Street and Main Street, from Depot Avenue to Southwest 16th Avenue (Study Area B). The second change recommends excluding the area west of Southwest 13th Street between Southwest 16th Avenue, Southwest 16th Street, Archer Road, and Southwest 13th Street.
The first recommended change, enlarging the area to include the property between Southwest 6th Street and Main Street, from Depot Avenue to Southwest 16th Avenue (Study Area B), is made in reaction to the amount of slum and blight found within the area. While the originally proposed expansion area does include slum and blight, it is unclear if it is substantial enough to meet redevelopment criteria. While the consultant was working in the area, the consultant identified the new area as in need of a CRA. The new area is directly south of the Downtown CRA district. The DRAB discussed the issue and is somewhat conflicted about the possibility of the area being included in the CPUH CRA district. Downtown Redevelopment Advisory Board (DRAB) acknowledges that the area feels like it should be included in downtown, however, there are no immediate plans to expand the Downtown CRA in the near future. The DRAB meeting was then followed by the CPUH meeting where CPUH took action on this item.
The second recommendation, to exclude the area west of Southwest 13th Street, comes from the understanding that all but t...
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