Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Enter into a One Year Agreement with BAR Architects, with the Option of Two One-Year Extensions for Time Only, for a Total Amount of $199,450 for Architectural and Urban Design Services for Evaluating the Potential for and Preparing Materials to Support the Adaptive Reuse of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) as a Technology Campus at Alameda Point. (Base Reuse 819099)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Enter into a One Year Agreement with BAR Architects, with the Option of Two One-Year Extensions for Time Only, for a Total Amount of $199,450 for Architectural and Urban Design Services for Evaluating the Potential for and Preparing Materials to Support the Adaptive Reuse of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) as a Technology Campus at Alameda Point
BACKGROUND
Since before the closure of Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda), one of the primary goals for the redevelopment of the base was the replacement of the 18,000 jobs that would be lost when the base closed. The Community Reuse Plan (1996), Alameda Point Conceptual Plan (2013), General Plan Amendment (2014), and the Zoning Ordinance (2014) have consistently identified the reuse of buildings, specifically in the Adaptive Reuse sub-district, for job generating uses.
All of the “low-hanging fruit” buildings, like the large hangars are leased and the buildings still vacant are in need of significant investment in interior and exterior renovations. One of the most iconic buildings in the Adaptive Reuse sub-district is the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ). It sits on 21 acres and has approximately 500,000 square feet of building area. It has been chronically vacant since the Navy left and is severely vandalized. For many years, it has been thought of for housing, since it was the original use of the site. However, in discussions during the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan’s approval process at the City Council, the remaining housing under the Navy’s residential housing cap was thought best used in Main Street to maximize the amount of moderate/workforce housing that could be developed. Since that time, staff has considered the idea that the BEQ might have broad appeal among tech companies that desire unique and authentic spaces and are increasingly interested in socially responsible adaptive reuse of historic buildings, such as the Twitter and Airbnb headquarters in San Francisco. With a strategic location in the middle of the campus-like setting of the historic Civic Core, close to wineries and distilleries, the Main Street Ferry Terminal, athletic facilities and open space, the BEQ has many of the locational qualities that are sought after by tech companies in the Bay Area and around the world.
To demonstrate the potential of the BEQ as a tech campus and to draw the interest of potential users and developers, staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for architectural services to do a conceptual feasibility of the buildings and to develop concept renderings and possible floorplan configurations that could support a future RFP for a specific tech campus user or developer, if directed by City Council to pursue this option. Staff believes this initial step is necessary to add additional certainty about how the floor plate requirements could be met, to provide some initial feedback and indication of acceptance by the community and Boards and Commissions, and to help end-users visualize how the dilapidated buildings could be configured to meet their needs.
DISCUSSION
On August 3, 2017, staff issued an RFP for architectural and urban design services for adaptive reuse of the BEQ as a tech campus. Staff posted the RFP on the City’s website, advertised the RFP in the local newspaper and sent the RFP to a list of architectural firms with experience with adaptive reuse and technology campuses. On August 23, 2017, a tour of the BEQ buildings and pre-proposal conference was held with over 100 people attending. Staff received nineteen proposals on September 14, 2017 and staff, including a member of the Historical Advisory Board, interviewed four firms on October 4, 2017. Staff is recommending the consultant team being led by BAR Architects (BAR) as the team that best meets the City’s selection criteria, based on their collective understanding and approach to the project, specific experience with tech campuses and adaptive reuse projects, the qualifications of their team, and cost competitiveness.
BAR Architects has over 40 years of experience and is widely recognized for excellence in design and client-centered, site-specific solutions. BAR has assembled a uniquely qualified team with Alameda experience, historic expertise, and high-powered tech office know-how. Leading the team as the overall project manager and primary point of contact is William Duncanson. Mr. Duncanson has been instrumental in the outreach and approval efforts of the Del Monte warehouse renovation, the Alameda Housing Authority’s senior housing building at the Del Monte Warehouse project, and Alameda Point Site A. David Israel, a founding partner with BAR brings extensive experience and knowledge from working on Site A’s development plan, Building 11, and designing other office facilities in the Region. BAR has also provided architectural services for the historic renovation and adaptive reuse of the Presidio’s historic Building 100 (previously barracks) and an historic rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of the historic Grant Building in San Francisco into a pioneering technology-focused brand hotel, YOTEL. Other team members include:
IwamotoScott Architecture - Founding partners Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott bring considerable experience designing and executing creative office space and over 200,000 square feet of urban tech campus space. Specializing in adaptive reuse, their clientele includes Amazon/Twitch, Pinterest, Bloomberg, HeavyBit and Obscura Digital in addition to other companies around the world.
CMG Landscape Architecture - Founding partner Kevin Conger worked on the Alameda Point Waterfront Town Center and Precise Plan, as well as tech campus design, placemaking and green infrastructure for Facebook’s campus, the San Francisco Mission Rock mixed-use development, redevelopment of Treasure Island and Google’s master development plan for future workplace growth.
Christopher VerPlank Consulting - Founder Christopher VerPlank has provided a range of services in Alameda and was instrumental in documenting historic resources at NAS Alameda. Other areas of expertise include cultural resource surveys, historic structure reports, historic resource evaluations, building investigations, design review and tax credit applications.
The scope of services that BAR and their team will perform include:
• Become familiar with history of the buildings, the significant character-defining features and guidelines for rehabilitation and other relevant planning and technical documents;
• Develop a visual record of photographs of the building and the surrounding built environment as it related to neighboring buildings, streetscape pattern and development patterns;
• Examine the criteria and requirements for a tech campus to determine how the buildings could be adapted to attract tech companies, including the feasibility and strategy for how to rehabilitate the buildings, including any proposed alterations;
• Prepare sketches of 2-3 conceptual ideas coming out of the feasibility stage. Prepare an illustrative design renderings showing different angles and perspective of the concepts for presentation to the Planning Board and Historic Advisory Board for comments; and
• Prepare the template and formatting for the RFP for developers/users, highlighting locational attributes, urban design plans and illustrations that will support staff’s effort to issue a RFP for campus users, if approved by the City Council.
It is recommended that the City Council approve this professional services contract with the BAR Architects team in the amount of $199,450 for the work described above. The contract also permits two one-year extensions of the contract for time only based upon satisfactory performance of all aspects of the contract.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The contract expenses have been included in the Base Reuse Fiscal Year 2017-18 Budget. This contract will not have a financial impact on the General Fund.
POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action will make progress in helping to attract job-generating uses of existing buildings in the Adaptive Reuse sub-district. The project is consistent with the Community Reuse Plan, the General Plan Amendment and the Alameda Point Conceptual Planning Guide.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project that has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonable foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to Enter into a One Year Agreement with BAR Architects, With the Option of Two One-Year Extensions for Time Only, for a Total Amount of $199,450 for Architectural and Urban Design Services for Evaluating the Potential for and Preparing Materials to Support the Adaptive Reuse of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) as a Technology Campus at Alameda Point.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Department Director
By,
Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Project Manager, Base Reuse
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. BAR Architects Proposal
2. Updated Fee Schedule
3. BAR Architects Contract for Architectural and Urban Design Services