WESTFIELD – The Westfield Redevelopment Authority approved two contracts yesterday morning to advance the Elm Street project based upon the city’s Urban Renewal Plan approved by the state in July,
The state has approved the Elm Street Urban Renewal Plan which positions the city to seek the release of federal funds earmarked for the public-private development of a transportation facility, mixed use commercial building and a multi-deck parking garage.
The urban renewal plan was prepared for the WRA by Maureen Hayes, principal of Hayes Development Services, a Springfield based consultant, who identified a 4.88 acre renewal plan target area on both sides of Elm Street, encompass an area, roughly from the City Hotel alley to Thomas Street on the east side of Elm Street and between Arnold and Church streets on the west side of Elm Street.
The Elm Street project target area includes the 2.86 acre site off Elm Street and between Arnold and Church streets.
The proposed multi-use commercial building would be located at the corner of Elm and Arnold streets, while the 2,000-square-foot transportation facility will be constructed on Arnold Street. The project will be supported by construction of a parking garage, which could have as many as three levels to meet the parking requirements of city ordinances and will be sited off Church Street.
The size of the commercial building, which could have space for retail stores and office spaces, will be determined by the private developer selected by the WRA for the project.
The WRA approved an $18,500 contract to be funded by the Westfield Redevelopment Authority for the conceptual design of the proposed parking garage at a special meeting yesterday morning, then approved a $207,000 contract to be funded by a state grant to begin implementation of the Elm Street Urban Renewal plan. The garage design work was awarded to Walker Parking Consultants of Boston, while the urban renewal plan implementation was awarded to Hayes Development.
Much of the discussion among board members pertained to the disjointed approach of the project. WRA Executive Director Jeff Daley said the issue is that funding is coming from a number of different state and federal agencies which have different trigger criterion for release of those funds. Daley said the two contracts will result in products that will move the project toward release of those state and federal funding instruments, as well as reimbursement of city money spent on different development phases of the project.
Daley said that he “has notified the state executive branch that we have a viable (parking garage) project and that we need (financial) help.”
The state has earmarked about $7 million for the garage project in several different transportation bonds by the Legislature, but the money must be allocated by the Executive branch before it can be released.
The timeline for the garage project, from concept to construction completion is roughly 21 months and has to coincide with the commercial and transportation elements of the Elm Street project.
“So you can understand my sense of urgency,” Daley said to the board members. “We have a two-year window.”
The parking facility is needed because of the city’s zoning requirements based on the square footage of the commercial building.
“A three to five story commercial project will require 375 parking spaces, 125 per floor,” Daley said. “A six-story project would require 500 parking spaces.”
Daley said that “within the next few weeks” he will begin to negotiate with the Romani family to purchase the former bowling alley on Church Street, the proposed location of the parking facility.
The urban renewal plan implementation contract is more complicated because that implementation will be the vehicle to satisfy future funding requirements. The total cost of the implementation work is estimated at $380,000, which include the fees for a number of subcontractors involved different phases of the plan implementation.
Those subcontractors will be involved in the acquisition of additional property, the Flahive Building on Arnold Street, which will involve property appraisers and lawyers, the relocation of commercial and residential tenants, demolition of that building and any needed environmental mitigation.
“We will get as far as we can (with the urban renewal plan implementation),” Daley said, “but we know that we’ll need other funding sources to complete that work.”
Several members of the board raised concerns about the implementation contract, Eric Meyers said that the contract language is too open.
“I don’t think this contract sets timelines of performance metrics,” Meyers said. “There can be some issues, especially in terms of getting (work) done expediently.”
Daley said the contract has a “fluid timeline and process. There is no timeline for implementation services because (funding) is tied to the next steps.”
Chairwoman Kathleen Witalisz suggested that the contract be modified to include a time line consistent with the municipal fiscal year, which ends on June 30. That amendment was approved.
Meyers also questioned the need for a surety bond.
“I’ve been burned many times because of poor language and the lack of metrics for performance in a contract,” Meyers said. “I’ve seen bad things happen, so I’ve adopted the Reagan theory of ‘trust and verify’.”
Attorney Calvin Annio said that Hayes is not a new vendor to the city.
“Maureen has been doing work for the city for over 20 years, so there is a familiarity and comfort aspect with doing business with a company for that length of time,” Annio said. “(Hayes) will be on a short leash because there is sequencing to this which is spelled out in the urban renewal plan.”
