Title
Recommendation to Accept the Alameda Point Enterprise District Marketing Strategy Document and a Six-Month Status Update. (Base Reuse 819099) WITHDRAWN
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Accept the Alameda Point Enterprise District Marketing Strategy Document and a 6-Month Status Update
BACKGROUND
In April 2014, City Council directed staff to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from developers for an 82-acre commercial development site within the Enterprise District at Alameda Point, previously referred to as Site B (Exhibit 1) at the same time as the RFQ for the 68-acre mixed-use Site A project. Although there were four qualified developers that responded to the RFQ and two of which the City Council selected to negotiate with, the discussions stalled because the developers were not willing to commit to upfront infrastructure, land payments or a milestone schedule for implementing development due to the uncertainty of the commercial market in Alameda and the high cost of infrastructure. As a result, in December 2014 the City Council approved postponing any decision on Site B until 2015 when there would be more certainty about the Site A development and the timing of its infrastructure development.
With the approval of the 68-acre Site A development in July 2015, with 800 housing units and 600,000 square feet of commercial space in the design and construction phase, including major infrastructure investment, the uncertainty about the schedule and commitment toward infrastructure has been minimized. On October 20, 2015, staff recommended to the City Council a new development strategy for the Enterprise District that focuses on attracting a major commercial business or “end user,” instead of commercial developers, leverages its existing leasing agent, Cushman & Wakefield, and ties the marketing approach with progress being made at Site A Staff’s recommendation also included regular 6-month updates to the City Council on the status of the marketing effort and a summary of performance metrics for the work being conducted by Cushman & Wakefield. The October 20 City Council staff report and presentation are provided in Exhibit 1.
DISCUSSION
At the October 20 meeting, City Council directed staff to move forward with the recommended Enterprise District Marketing Strategy (Strategy) and return to the City Council with a written document that consolidated the information provided in the staff report into a single stand-alone document that could be reviewed and updated as necessary. As presented in Exhibit 2, staff has prepared that document for City Council acceptance. This staff report provides: (1) an overview of the format and content of the stand-alone Strategy document, and (2) a 6-month update on the performance of the Strategy, including a discussion of the expected deliverables and metrics to assess performance. Staff believes that the Strategy is being implemented consistent with the intended goals and work plan and recommends maintaining the current approach.
I. Summary of Enterprise District Marketing Strategy Document
Overall, the Strategy consolidates the information and recommendation from the October 20 staff report and provides a roadmap for marketing the Enterprise District at Alameda Point. The stand-alone document outlines the goals and vision for what types of development are envisioned for the area and recommends an approach for how to attract the desired types of uses. The Strategy also outlines metrics that will be captured to evaluate the approach, and, in particular, the performance of Cushman & Wakefield. Below is an overview of each of the sections of the Strategy:
• Background - This section describes the previous solicitation process in 2014 and the reasons a new approach is needed.
• Enterprise District Vision and Goals - This section describes the land use and zoning framework for the area and the types of development envisioned.
• Marketing Strategy- This section describes the three phases of the new approach and the significance of tying it to the Site A development lifecycle. The marketing tactics and metrics for each phase is described in this section.
• Roles and Responsibilities - This section explains the role of Cushman & Wakefield in marketing the site, how they were selected and what deliverables they are responsible for under their contract with the City. This section also explains what role the City has in the attraction efforts.
• Deliverables and Metrics - This section describes the various tasks and deliverables that will be performed by Cushman & Wakefield and will serve as the basis for evaluating the Strategy
• Conclusion - This section summarizes the expected outcomes of the Strategy
II. 6-month Status Update (January - June 2016)
As presented in the Strategy, the first phase is the Awareness Phase, which is tied to the pre-infrastructure construction and Phase 1 closing (9-14 month duration) of the Site A development. The goals during this phase are to raise awareness of the Enterprise District opportunity with a focus on the commercial brokerage community and identifying initial corporate or institutional users that may be an appropriate fit for the Enterprise District. Below is a table of the tasks and deliverables completed by Cushman & Wakefield in the six-month period, corresponding exhibits or links to the marketing collateral, and the metrics associated with each deliverable.
In addition to the achieving the metrics above, Cushman & Wakefield compiled some of the valuable anecdotal feedback they received from their visits, presentations and inquiries (see below table). These comments help give insight into how the brokerage community and end-users are perceiving the Enterprise District opportunity, the timing of their development decisions and marketability of the site. This type of feedback will help guide the on-going marketing efforts of Cushman & Wakefield, as well as inform the City’s decision-making process.
|
Industry |
Feedback (quotes) |
|
Life Sciences |
-Attracted by availability of land, Site A housing, and potential ferry terminal -Access concerns |
|
Technology |
Excited about expansion options |
|
Food/Beverage |
Concern about timing of infrastructure, potential timing risks |
|
Retail |
-Access is a concern, but new housing seen as a plus and future ferry connectivity to SF -Term lease opportunity preferred |
As is shown in the tables above, Cushman & Wakefield has completed the deliverables outlined in the Phase 1 - Awareness Approach for the first 6-month period, except for the article in the regional press. They have indicated that the article is in process. Staff recommends continuing with the current approach for the next six-month period.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact to the City’s General Fund or Base Reuse Department budgets (Fund 858) relating to reviewing the Alameda Point Enterprise District Marketing Strategy.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
No environmental review is required as reviewing the marketing strategy for the Enterprise District is not a project as defined under CEQA. CEQA Guidelines, section 15378.
RECOMMENDATION
Accept Alameda Point Enterprise District Marketing Strategy Document and a 6-month Status Update.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse Director - Alameda Point
By,
Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Project Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. October 20, 2015 Enterprise District Staff Report and Presentation
2. Enterprise District Marketing Strategy
3. Enterprise District Marketing Brochure
4. Cushman & Wakefield Broker Blast
5. Cushman & Wakefield Targeted Mailer to Regional Groups