Title
CRA Office NW 5th Ave Locations Options (B)
Explanation
The CRA's offices are currently located at 300 E University Ave, Suite 240 in the Commerce Building. A one-year option has been exercised on the lease and will expire on February 29, 2010. When the lease option extension agreement was presented for approval, the CRA Executive Director asked that staff consider alternative locations, which was consistent with on-going City Commission FY09/10 Budget discussions.
Staff was asked to consider four options for locating the CRA's office:
1. Remain in Commerce Building
2. Relocate to Thomas Center
3. Relocate to Depot Building (post renovation)
4. Relocate to a new Office Building on one of two CRA-owned NW 5th Ave lots
4a. 414 NW 5th Ave
4b. 802 NW 5th Ave
Staff prepared an analysis with the pros, cons, and partial financial implications, if known, for each option. The analysis was then presented to each Redevelopment Area Advisory Boards. Each Advisory Board member was asked to rank the options in order of their preference, with 1 being the most preferred and 5 being the least preferred. The scores were then tabulated. The results were as follows:
Final Ranking (Average)
1. 414 NW 5th Ave Avg = 1.25
2. 802 NW 5th Ave Avg = 2
3. Commerce Building Avg = 3.25
4. Depot Building Avg = 3.75
5. Thomas Center Avg = 4.75
On October 9, 2008, the CRA Board approved the final rankings and asked staff to perform a detailed analysis of the two NW 5th Ave locations and present a recommendation at the November 17, 2008 meeting.
Location Analysis
414 NW 5th Ave (Location 1)
This site is located east of the Santa Fe Blount classroom and is the former site of the Rose Theater. The lot is approximately .41 acres and is currently zoned MU-1 (mixed use low intensity). A streetscape project was completed earlier this year to underground utilities, provide decorative lighting, and add brick pavers that help enhance the visual aesthetics o...
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