Thoughts on the two Civic Center Proposals:
General
These seem way too vague for RFP responses. In particular, I'd expect more details from the two developers on how they propose to finance this thing before the City agrees to sign a Developer Agreement with anybody. I think a lot of the blame for that can be assigned to the City .... don't know if their RFP actually laid any parameters for what they're looking for financially - Developer Fee amounts allowed, are they looking to give up ownership altogether or are they looking for a regular land lease payments as the landholder, etc. Also, what they're willing to put up on their end - bonds, property tax freezes, etc. Overall, I just feel erked that a developer would be selected for something this big without any soft commitments on financing, a budget, or a general offer to the City, and that such basic details will instead get negotiated on the back end. Even the actual uses of the space itself don't sound close to being official!
Stirling/Hunt Proposal
It looks like they're essentially rebuilding what's already there, except replacing the Expo Hall for some hotel and office space; and then adding a ton of housing with ground floor retail, and a small surface parking lot. I'm all for adding more housing downtown, but I don't think a Civic Center Redevelopment project should be the vehicle for that, at least not on this scale.The project looks something like 60% residential.
Cordish Proposal
I like this one better - it seems to fall more in the spirit of what should go there. Better variety of uses, and the outdoor multi-purpose venue seems to tie it together better. It feels more civic and more appropriate for a downtown. Wish their due diligence period included some community engagement though, i.e for Mardi Gras ball considerations.
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