Title
URBAN LAND INSTITUTE ARIZONA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL REPORT - REVITALIZING GLENDALE’S MIDTOWN DISTRICT
Staff Contact: Jean Moreno, Executive Officer Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects
Guest Presenter: Amy Malloy, AzTAP Committee Vice-Chair, Evergreen Devco
Guest Presenter: Tom Hester, Regional Placemaking Manager WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff
Guest Presenter: Mark A. Davis, Davis Enterprises
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Purpose and Policy Guidance
Recommendation
This is a request for Council to review, discuss, and consider the findings of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Arizona Technical Assistance Panel (AzTAP) study that took place on September 15, 2016. A summary of the recommended strategies in the topic areas of policy, people, and place are outlined on page 6 of the attached report and discussed in greater detail in the latter sections of the report. Additionally, the study recommendations identify several significant key actions on page 7 - primarily to commit to a long-term vision by positioning Centerline for a compact, walkable, transit-oriented future by setting policy and focusing investments. Staff is seeking guidance from Council on the following questions:
• Are any of the recommended strategies off the table for continued study and implementation?
• Are there any of the recommended strategies that Council would like to see prioritized?
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Background
In 1989, the City Council adopted a General Plan and a Downtown Urban Design and Revitalization Plan that called for specific development of the Glendale Avenue corridor in the city’s downtown. Subsequently, the City Council participated in a process to fill in the framework that had been established by these two plans with the intent of identifying the types of businesses that should be present between 51st and 62nd avenues. The process included several visioning sessions and significant public participation which ultimately led to the development of The Magnetic Mile Vision Document in 1991. In 2002, the City Council adopted both the Glendale City Center Master Plan, which identified future land use designations and developed a market approach to defining projects; and, the city’s Redevelopment Area pursuant to A.R.S. 36-1473.
In 2007 the City Council, reinvigorated the mission to create a vibrant city center which ultimately culminated in the development of the Centerline project which encompasses the area between 43rd and 67th avenues, Myrtle Avenue to Ocotillo Road. Over the course of roughly two years, the City Council and staff participated in a variety of community activities to gather key stakeholder and community input regarding the continued development of the Glendale Avenue corridor. The result of these efforts was the development of key objectives for Centerline which included broadening the view of downtown, creating a brand for the Glendale Avenue corridor, establishing economic partnerships, developing a new core identity for the area, and advancing an ongoing redevelopment strategy and support tools. Over the course of the next two years, staff worked to develop a comprehensive zoning tool that provided an alternative set of development standards that would facilitate private development. This activity culminated in the Council adoption of the Glendale Centerline Overlay District (GCOD) in 2011.
Revitalization efforts in Centerline have lagged despite various planning activities. Approximately 10% of the Centerline area consists of vacant land and the Centerline vacancy rates as compared to citywide vacancy rates are higher with the most significant gap in the retail sector. In addition, this area has seen a 12% population decrease between the 2000 and 2010 Censuses. The redevelopment and revitalization of the city’s core continues to be a concern for the Glendale community and the City Council.
Recognizing that the fate of the city’s revitalization efforts rests largely in the hands of external market conditions, in 2014 staff began dialogue with the ULI Arizona Chapter regarding their AzTAP program. The program is designed to leverage the expertise of industry experts to provide municipal governments with access to the breadth of expertise available from the private sector in content areas including complex land use planning, development, and redevelopment issues. Staff sought grant funding from the Glendale Industrial Development Authority (IDA) board to cover the cost of the study and worked with the AzTAP committee on an appropriate scope for the project. The project was initially delayed in light of the pending policy decision related to the West Phoenix/Central Glendale High Capacity Transit study. Due to the lengthened timeframe for that policy decision and the immediate need to understand (from the private sector perspective) the challenges and potential for revitalization, the study commenced.
The AzTAP committee assembled a team of highly regarded private sector experts to serve on the panel for the study that took place on September 15, 2016. The greater study area included all of Centerline for context, but the focus of the study was centered on the Midtown District because it is the gateway to Glendale from Phoenix, serves as the transition space to the heart of downtown where a significant amount of programmed activity takes place, and contains a large number of parcels that have been vacant for several years.
Analysis
The recommended strategies from the panel experts included specific content around policy, people, and place, focused in six key areas including:
• Land Development, Transit Readiness, and Infrastructure
• Placemaking and Neighborhood Preservation
• Educational and Institutional Strategies
• Housing
• Economic Development
• Finance and Investment Tools
Staff is recommending the development of a comprehensive strategy to prioritize the study recommendations and develop a plan of action to address short, mid, and long range initiatives associated with these strategies that would also include data analysis and performance metrics. Before doing so, staff is specifically seeking Council guidance on whether there are any concerns or specific priorities regarding the recommended strategies.
Community Benefit/Public Involvement
The implementation of a comprehensive adaptive reuse and redevelopment strategy that focuses on the Midtown area initially, is critical to the future success of the entire Centerline redevelopment area. This area is the gateway to our community, and is visibly lacking development activity and private investment. A commitment to a long-term vision for this area that positions all of Centerline for a compact, walkable, transit-oriented future by setting policy and focusing investments has the potential to create momentum for the city’s long standing hopes for revitalization. Members of the public were invited to attend the event to hear the panel discussion. Audience members included City Council, staff, Glendale Chamber of Commerce leadership and membership, Glendale IDA board members, downtown business owners, and residents.