Submitted by Herta and Eric
While all seemed quiet on the surface for Planning and Development, lots of important things were happening in the background thanks to Lee Prevost’s efforts on behalf of our co-op.
Lee met with the City’s Real Estate & Development (REDS) business unit and discussed two options regarding our lease. OPTION 1 focused on re-skinning the building envelope and improving the visitability of some of the units through accessibility improvements (for instance, door hardware, potentially better access to the office, and some limited grounds/landscaping changes). OPTION 2 proposes to proceed with the re-skinning of the building envelope and add an additional 16 fully accessible age-in-place units. These new units would likely go in the area currently occupied by the one-bedroom units.
Lee reported that City likes the two options and are gravitating toward two very different scenarios:
a 40 year lease extension in support of OPTION 1 - regeneration-only
a sale at book value in support of OPTION 2 that includes development of new units
In conclusion Urban Matters is leaning towards recommending OPTION 2. While significantly more complex, OPTION 2 addresses one of the membership’s key concern about the ability to age-in-place; is a much stronger narrative at a time when there is a lot of competition for funding; and it also seems like the option most compelling to the City in support of a sale at book value.
Lee will be presenting a full report to the membership mid-December.