Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 18, 2020
Subject
SUBJECT: LITTLE TOKYO/ARTS DISTRICT STATION JOINT DEVELOPMENT
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE an update on Little Tokyo/Arts District Station Joint Development efforts.
Issue
ISSUE
In August 2018, Metro released a Request for Interest/Qualifications (RFI/Q) for the development of the Metro-owned Regional Connector Little Tokyo/Arts District Station Site (see Attachment A - Site Map). In June 2019, Metro released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to the four short-listed developers. After thorough evaluation by a Proposal Evaluation Team (PET), staff recommended entering into an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with Innovative Housing Opportunities, Inc. (IHO), the highest-scoring firm. The Metro Board of Directors (Board) was initially scheduled to consider this ENA recommendation at the March 2020 Board meeting, but the meeting was cancelled due to COVID-19. After reviewing the Board report, members of the Little Tokyo community expressed opposition to the ENA recommendation. At the request of the community and with mutual support of the development team, the ENA recommendation was again postponed in order to conduct extensive community outreach. Over the last eight months Metro, IHO and stakeholders from Little Tokyo have had numerous meetings but were ultimately unable to agree upon a path forward that aligns the community and Metro's vision, and the physical and financial constraints of the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station Site (Site).
The purpose of this Receive and File report is to provide the Board with the background as to why staff is not proceeding with a recommendation to enter into an ENA for this Site at this time.
Background
BACKGROUND
The Site is approximately 1.2 acres but has only approximately 30,000 square feet of developable area due to transit infrastructure constraints. While ideally situated...
Click here for full text