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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPS 2017-11-20 Item 2B - Public Safety Plan - Public Safety Facilities Business Assistance PlanTO: FROM: CC: DATE: City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM Public Safety Committee Derek Speck, Economic Development Administrator Mayor Ekberg November 14, 2017 SUBJECT: Public Safety Facilities Business Assistance Plan ISSUE Staff would like to brief the Committee on the next steps related assisting businesses that will be dislocated to build the Justice Center and City maintenance shops. BACKGROUND In 2016 the City adopted a Public Safety Plan to replace three aging fire stations, construct a new Justice Center to house the Police Department and Municipal Court, and construct a consolidated shops facility to house the City's street and vehicle maintenance operations. After a lengthy site selection process, on November 6, 2017 the City Council took final action selecting the sites. There are currently twenty licensed businesses located on the Justice Center site and four licensed businesses located on the future maintenance shops site. DISCUSSION City staff is working to develop a business assistance plan to help businesses that will be dislocated due to construction of the Justice Center and maintenance shops. At the Council meeting on November 6th, Councilmembers expressed a desire to help the businesses to the extent possible. Based on that, staff has begun outreach to the affected businesses to better understand their needs. Before the end of December, we plan to meet with every business individually and host a combined meeting with the Justice Center site businesses. We will bring a recommended business assistance plan forward to Council in January for consideration. The following five types of assistance are actions the City can implement fairly rapidly: 1. Available Property Listings — Staff can provide listings of commercial property for lease and for sale. 2. SBDC Counseling — The City contracts with the Small Business Development Center at Highline College to provide counseling services to small businesses in Tukwila. Staff can work with the SBDC to coordinate specific counseling sessions with the affected businesses. 3. Financial Assistance — The City can provide some modest direct financial assistance to help the business move or get reestablished. This would be a direct cost to the Public Safety Plan budget. 4. Lease -backs — The City may not need to demolish the structures immediately upon taking ownership the of the properties and can lease the spaces to the businesses. The lease back period can be at least one year without impacting the project construction timeline. That time is important to give the businesses time to find new locations. 5. Developer and Property Owner Introductions — Staff can introduce the businesses to key property owners and developers who may have space such as Tukwila Village, the SeaTac Center, etc. 7 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 Staff is exploring possibilities for helping the businesses on the Justice Center site relocate to spaces being developed in the Tukwila International Boulevard neighborhood. Following are some potential development opportunities that could include commercial space: 1. The future Justice Center 2. The future HealthPoint Health and Wellness Center 3. The former Newporter motel site (14820 Tukwila International Boulevard) 4. The former Traveler's Choice motel site (3747 S. 146th Street) 5. Knights Inn motel (14110 Tukwila International Boulevard) 6. Retail building (3920 S. 146th Street) The main challenge with these development opportunities is the time it will take before spaces would be available for businesses to move in. Sites 1 through 4 above would be new development and could take longer than the time the City could allow the businesses to stay in their current locations due to the project schedule for the Justice Center. Site 4 is currently used as a laydown yard for the City's 144th Street project. When those crews are done, Parks and Recreation is working with the International Rescue Committee to create a temporary pea -patch. That work could be halted and the site sold for development for commercial businesses. Sites 5 and 6 is the most likely to be able to accommodate businesses when they need to move from the Justice Center site. Both of these options would require the City to invest some funding, partner with other organizations for the purchase and redevelopment, and possibly use eminent domain. These sites are located within the City's community renewal district and had been identified by the City for possible purchase in 2013. FINANCIAL IMPACT The financial impact is not known at this time. RECOMMENDATION This item is for information only. ATTACHMENTS None W:12017 Info Memos\Business Assistance.doc 8