CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) hired Cushman and Wakefield to market the 5.73-acre Rivergate Palm District, engaged ASD/SKY for River Road site concepts ($25,000), and issued an RFP for a Verizon/Frontier Building mural.
8 items on the agenda · 6 decisions recorded
On the agenda
- 1Call to Order - Roll Call▶ 0:00
- 2.a
November 20, 2025 CRA Minutes
approvedThe CRA Board approved the minutes from the November 20, 2025 CRA meeting.
- motion:Motion to approve the November 20, 2025 CRA minutes. (passed)
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[00:00:16] Approval of the minutes for November 20th, 2025. [00:00:21] Move for approval. [00:00:22] One second. [00:00:24] All those in favor signify by aye. [00:00:26] Aye.
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- 3.a
Memorandum of Understanding - New Port Richey Main Street, Inc.
approvedon consentThe CRA Board approved the consent agenda item authorizing a Memorandum of Understanding with New Port Richey Main Street, Inc.
- motion:Motion to approve the consent agenda including the Memorandum of Understanding with New Port Richey Main Street, Inc. and purchase payments. (passed)
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[00:00:27] Consent agenda, memorandum of understanding and the purchase payments. [00:00:33] Move for approval. [00:00:36] Second. [00:00:37] All those in favor signify by aye. [00:00:40] Aye.
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- 3.b
Purchases/Payments for CRA Board Approval
approvedon consentThe CRA Board approved the consent agenda, including the memorandum of understanding and purchases/payments, by voice vote.
- motion:Motion to approve the consent agenda including the memorandum of understanding and purchases/payments. (passed)
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[00:00:27] Consent agenda, memorandum of understanding and the purchase payments. [00:00:33] Move for approval. [00:00:36] Second. [00:00:37] All those in favor signify by aye. [00:00:40] Aye.
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- 4.a
Real Estate Listing Agreement w/Cushman and Wakefield RE: Rivergate - Palm District Properties
approvedThe CRA Board approved a real estate listing agreement with Cushman and Wakefield to market the 5.73-acre Rivergate Palm District properties centered around the former SunTrust/Truist parcel on US Highway 19. The nine-month agreement sets commission at 5% on the first $3 million and 4% above that. Staff selected the firm after an RFP process initiated September 22, with proposals received November 10.
- motion:Authorize the executive director to sign the listing agreement with Cushman and Wakefield for the Rivergate Palm District properties. (passed)
US Highway 19Bristol PropertiesBrookfield PropertiesColliersCushman and WakefieldFalcone GroupSunTrust/TruistDave GammonKen KrasnowMs. MannsCRA redevelopment planMain Street LandingRivergate Palm Districtstormwater/resiliency grant▶ Jump to 0:43 in the videoShow transcriptHide transcript
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[00:00:43] A real estate listing agreement with Cushman and Wakefield. [00:00:53] Right. [00:00:54] The request before you this evening is to hire Cushman and Wakefield to [00:01:03] represent the CRA in the marketing for the Rivergate Palm District properties. [00:01:13] We have Mr. [00:01:17] Ken with us. [00:01:19] This, Ken where are you? [00:01:21] There you are in the back of the room. [00:01:24] Mr. [00:01:24] Ken Krasnow, who will be leading the real estate brokerage team [00:01:32] in attendance this evening. [00:01:34] And this is again, the 5.73 acre parcel of property, which is centered around [00:01:46] the former SunTrust, truest piece of property on US Highway 19. [00:01:54] And I'll let Dave Gammon talk further about the process and how we came to [00:02:02] recommend to you Cushman and Wakefield. [00:02:06] Very good. [00:02:06] Thank you, Ms. [00:02:07] Manns. [00:02:08] Mr. [00:02:08] Chairman, fellow directors, as promised two weeks ago on our 11-20 CRA meeting, [00:02:14] we're bringing back this listing agreement with Cushman and Wakefield [00:02:18] for the Rivergate Palm parcels. [00:02:22] Load me up. [00:02:24] We're requesting authorization for the executive director to sign the listing [00:02:30] agreement, which we have a copy of, already has been executed by the Cushman [00:02:34] and Wakefield folks, and we've got some good slides, but you'll just have to use [00:02:39] your imagination, the same size that Ms. [00:02:44] Manns had mentioned, five and three quarter acres. [00:02:46] You remember the picture over in Rivergate, what it looked like. [00:02:52] There we go. [00:02:54] Those are the parcels we're talking about. [00:02:58] We're still working with the church, by the way, just as an update on the option [00:03:02] agreement you approved two weeks ago to get their signature on it. [00:03:05] They're working with their congregation. [00:03:06] We should have that shortly. [00:03:07] I was hoping to have it tonight, just don't have it. [00:03:12] Let me back you up a little bit about the search we did. [00:03:14] Starting September 22nd, we contacted several large national brokerages [00:03:20] throughout Florida to see who would participate in an RFP. [00:03:25] We received proposals back on November 10th. [00:03:28] We interviewed candidates, and let me tell you kind of why we [00:03:31] went with Cushman and Wakefield. [00:03:33] We were very impressed with, as Ms. [00:03:35] Manns said, Ken, he was the team leader, and his team he has put together, and [00:03:40] also experience with similar type projects. [00:03:44] We thought that he could really represent what we needed to have done there. [00:03:48] Let me give you just a couple of examples of some of the properties Ken [00:03:52] did when he was with Colliers, and then at Cushman and Wakefield also. [00:03:56] For example, this is a small town, Margate, a small town surrounded by [00:04:01] much more recognizable towns, so they were kind of getting lost. [00:04:05] They did a bid package there to build Margate City Center. [00:04:09] They received three bids from national companies and chose Brookfield [00:04:12] Properties out of New York, so a big player to come down to Southeast [00:04:17] Florida. Oakland Park, again, a small community, Southeast Florida. [00:04:23] This is a redevelopment opportunity. [00:04:24] It's a project that had their city hall, 116 residential units, 16,000 [00:04:30] square feet of commercial space, and 21 live-work units. [00:04:35] I was really impressed on this one. [00:04:36] They got 12 proposals from developers all over the country. [00:04:39] They chose Falcone Group, who had never done a project in Oakland Park, so [00:04:44] that was pretty interesting. [00:04:45] Both of those are southeast, just north of Fort Lauderdale. [00:04:49] Moving up the coast a little bit to Daytona Beach area, city of Port Orange. [00:04:54] This is really similar to what I think what we've got. [00:04:56] This is a 10-acre parcel. [00:04:57] They were looking for a mixed-use developer to create kind of a downtown [00:05:01] destination district. [00:05:03] Again, the proposals they get from national developers are very impressive. [00:05:07] They got six proposals on this one. [00:05:09] They chose a group called Bristol Properties out of Nashville, so they're [00:05:12] bringing people from all over the country into the south part of Florida. [00:05:18] Again, as Ms. [00:05:19] Manns mentioned, this is a team that Ken has put together. [00:05:22] Ken Krasnow is out here in the audience. [00:05:23] If you have any questions after the presentation, he'd be happy to entertain [00:05:27] them. [00:05:28] He's put together a very good group, and we're excited to be working with them. [00:05:33] We've set up a commission structure with their brokerage. [00:05:37] What we will do when they sell this property, we will pay 5% of the first [00:05:41] $3 million, and any dollars over the $3 million will be at a 4% commission rate. [00:05:51] We're excited to move forward with this property. [00:05:53] Obviously, as we were a couple of weeks ago, we're confident we picked the right [00:05:56] team. [00:05:56] We request authorization for the executive director to be able to execute this [00:06:01] listing agreement and get Ken and his team moving forward. [00:06:05] And the term of the agreement? [00:06:07] It'll be for a nine-month term. [00:06:12] Any public comment? [00:06:15] Seeing no one come forward, bring it back for discussion and vote. [00:06:20] I move to approve. [00:06:22] I'll second the motion. [00:06:24] The maker. [00:06:25] No, I'm just excited to get this project moving, and I think this is the first step [00:06:30] in doing that, so appreciate the work. [00:06:33] Second. [00:06:34] I have to say that this is the move that we need to make to turn that corner [00:06:41] into the signature that it needs to be. [00:06:45] I'm most interested to see that the grant that we have received can attract, as I [00:06:56] said at the last meeting, some creativity in the way in which we can turn the [00:07:04] stormwater aspect of it and the resiliency aspect of it into a benefit. [00:07:13] There's money there that the city's committed and also that we have from the [00:07:18] state, which should help to entice someone to come in and do it. [00:07:22] I believe that it also includes not just the site, but to hold back some of the [00:07:29] water that's surrounding that area to help other redevelopment occur. [00:07:34] So, they could be beneficial overall. [00:07:37] And finally, I just would like to say that there was some discussion about the [00:07:42] retail, the struggling businesses. [00:07:44] When Main Street Landing came in, it created walking traffic. [00:07:50] That traffic went over the bridge to the downtown. [00:07:54] More population on that side of the bridge, I think, can support the Main [00:07:59] Street development, and hopefully that will be part of the thoughtful consideration of [00:08:05] this. [00:08:06] Also, these larger developers, when they come in, could potentially pick up on [00:08:11] those agreements that we have struck if we do get it with the church and fold that [00:08:20] into to be coming out of their pocket and not out of the CRA's pocket. [00:08:24] So, it would be very interesting to let them loose and see what can come of it. [00:08:32] Yeah, just thank you for commenting on the businesses that are there on that, the [00:08:40] west side of Main Street, excuse me, the west side of the bridge on downtown. [00:08:47] Just to say that I know in prior conversations sometime last year, we had [00:08:54] talked about, or at least our economic development director had reminded us of [00:08:59] some of the redevelopment plan and the focus on certain nodes, US-19, the [00:09:05] bridge, the northern part of the bridge, Grand all the way down to the education
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- 4.b
You arrived here from a search for “ASD/SKY” — transcript expanded below
Proposal from ASD/SKY for Professional Services RE: River Road Property
approvedThe CRA Board approved a $25,000 proposal (plus up to $3,500 in reimbursable expenses) to engage architectural firm ASD/SKY of Tampa for professional services to develop a vision and preliminary site concepts for the 2.77-acre CRA-owned property at the northeast corner of River Road and Main Street. The scope includes a two-day on-site workshop with stakeholders and creation of a development concept to catalyze the Rivergate-Palm District.
- motion:Motion to approve the request to authorize the Executive Director to engage ASD/SKY for professional services on the River Road property ($25,000 plus up to $3,500 reimbursables). (passed)5–0
6235 Florida AvenueNortheast corner of River Road and Main StreetWalden Pond, west side of US-19 at PalmettoASD/SKYChamber of CommerceDented KegCouncilman AultmanCouncilman JonasDaleDr. MontemayorGeorge RomagnoliGreg OrvakJamesJohnKenMr. GammonMs. MannPetePeterCRA FY25-26 budget – professional services for planning ($40,000) and miscellaneous contractual services ($60,000)Croke DistrictFRA conferenceHorizon Bay / Largo City HallHurricanes Helene and Milton (2024)Main Street LandingsNora DistrictRailroad SquareRivergate-Palm DistrictSparkman WharfSt. Pete PierStonehavenSwetmanVilla Del SolWalden Pond▶ Jump to 9:08 in the videoShow transcriptHide transcript
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[00:09:11] center and beyond, and the Southgate Plaza area, but ensuring that west of the [00:09:18] bridge also didn't get lost in us expanding horizon. [00:09:22] And this is a good example of how we are not losing focus on necessary projects on [00:09:28] the west of the Main Street bridge as well. [00:09:30] So, I'm glad we're moving this forward. [00:09:35] Very happy it's moving forward. [00:09:37] Yeah, I think it's a great opportunity to have commercial on 19 and residential on [00:09:41] River Road, so definitely for the project. [00:09:43] All those in favor, signify by aye. [00:09:45] Aye. [00:09:46] That's five nothing proposal. [00:09:48] ASD Sky for professional service on the River Road property. [00:09:55] This proposal is for professional services related to the nearly three-acre parcel of [00:10:08] property located at the northeast corner of River Road and Main Street, and we're [00:10:16] looking specifically for services to help us shape the vision that will allow us to [00:10:24] develop a growth vision, if that's the right word, for what will be a destination [00:10:36] spot for that location and really strengthen its alignment with Main Street landings, or [00:10:47] I'll always call it Main Street landings, too, Pete, Stonehaven, and why don't you tell [00:10:54] us a little bit about what we have planned for that area, Mr. Gammon. [00:11:00] Well, thank you again, Ms. Mann. [00:11:02] I appreciate it. [00:11:03] Mr. Chairman, fellow directors, this is kind of timely after all of your comments. [00:11:07] We want to bring business, we want to bring activity to the west side of Main Street, [00:11:11] the west side of the bridge on Main Street. [00:11:13] That's exactly what this proposal is for. [00:11:16] We've got a ball rolling now on the Rivergate-Palm District, and let's kind of keep it rolling. [00:11:22] As Ms. Mann's mentioned, we have assembled over the years two and three-quarters acres [00:11:26] at Main and River. [00:11:28] We would like to hire the architectural firm ASD Sky out of Tampa to help guide us on this [00:11:37] process. [00:11:38] And I think these, I don't usually read slides, but I'm going to read a bullet here because [00:11:42] I think it's exactly what Ms. Mann's was talking about, and this came from them. [00:11:46] I said, okay, this is the group, one of the reasons we need to hire this group. [00:11:49] They came up with the shape, the vision that supports future growth, celebrates local character [00:11:54] and creates a dynamic destination for residents, visitors, and businesses alike. [00:11:59] That's a pretty good summary of what we want to happen on that site. [00:12:02] Let's talk about the site real quick. [00:12:04] Obviously, a very key location. [00:12:06] It's an entrance into downtown. [00:12:08] It's an entrance into the west side of Main Street, if you will. [00:12:11] It will draw people over the bridge back and forth, besides just the dented keg with Dale. [00:12:17] There's other places they'll be able to go, so it'll be pretty nice. [00:12:22] It's going to be a catalyst, obviously, for the Rivergate-Palm District. [00:12:27] Zooming in just a little bit closer, you'll call on the southern side of this, it was [00:12:31] the old chamber building and the boat launch. [00:12:33] That's about 1.37 acres. [00:12:35] In June of 2021, we bought another 0.61 acres, CRA did, that's on the very north part, and [00:12:42] right in the middle in October of 24, we connected it all with another 0.61 acres, ended up demolishing [00:12:49] the home on that and the chamber building, and now we've got 2.77 acres of developable [00:12:54] property. [00:12:57] How did we find ASD Sky? [00:13:01] We researched architectural planning firms, looked at some of the projects they did, put [00:13:05] together a project page on all the things they have done in the past. [00:13:11] Not just ASD Sky, but other architectural firms, and said, hey, is this the stuff we're [00:13:15] looking for on our property? [00:13:19] Here's some of the groups we want to invite to come out there, and this is why. [00:13:24] We invited them out to the site, met with them on site, asked for proposal packages, [00:13:28] and I think in these next couple of projects, you'll see why we chose this particular group. [00:13:33] They're the ones that did Sparkman Wharf, you're probably all familiar with that, in [00:13:36] Tampa. [00:13:37] It's really become a landmark destination in Tampa. [00:13:41] They repurposed an existing retail facility and movie plex into 120,000 square feet of [00:13:47] food and beverage event space, and a Class A office space, about 110,000 square feet [00:13:52] of office space. [00:13:54] The Croke District in Atlanta, like this one, just because of the brick components and how [00:13:59] it might interact with our historical downtown, it's a cohesive pedestrian-focused indoor-outdoor [00:14:06] destination. [00:14:07] They have a mix of services in this project, restaurants and retailers. [00:14:15] This is a distillery mixed-use project in St. Pete, mixed-use that they did around a [00:14:23] historic distillery, again, might be able to do something that's modern with historic. [00:14:28] It's a dense product, 80,000 square feet of maker's studio, 120,000 square feet of retail, [00:14:35] 1,500 density units, and they have 164 key hotel on this site. [00:14:40] It's vibrant and it's a destination for locals and visitors. [00:14:44] Horizon Bay, this is just down US-19, City of Largo's new City Hall complex. [00:14:49] I didn't really put it in there because we're looking for a new City Hall. [00:14:51] I did it because it's maybe a different architectural style, something we might consider. [00:14:56] Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't, but it's just something different. [00:15:00] a statement. They did the new St. Pete Pier. Again, the architecture that's going to stand [00:15:06] the test of time. Maybe that's something we're looking for on this river property. They joined [00:15:10] natural and built environments beautifully, as you can see. It's an active and passive [00:15:15] connection to their bay. It's a perfect example of innovative architectural design. I think [00:15:20] that's really what we're looking for. When we were over at the FRA conference in West [00:15:28] Palm Beach, I don't know if either of you went to the Nora district over there. I did. [00:15:33] It was actually pretty interesting. They designed that. This is in West Palm Beach. They transformed [00:15:38] an old warehouse district into a cool, walkable, eclectic neighborhood. All kinds of restaurants [00:15:45] and shops and offices. It's really pretty interesting. They also do site and large and [00:15:53] small scale master planning. This is one they did for us in New Port Richey. This is [00:15:58] Walden Pond on the west side of 19 at Palmetto. We haven't moved forward on this yet, but [00:16:05] if the developers ever do it, this is a pretty interesting site plan that they put together. [00:16:11] Some of the words I use, destination, indoor, outdoor, mix of services, vibrant, locals [00:16:16] and visitors, innovative design, walkable. I think that's what we're looking for in a [00:16:20] design firm to help us lead it. That's what this group does, ASD Sky. They've been creating [00:16:25] amazing places since 1963. They've worked all over the world. They have experience in [00:16:30] architecture, landscape, interior design, graphics. I think that's the experience we [00:16:36] are looking for to help lead us in this visioning process. Got a great team of professionals [00:16:42] excited to help the city with this site. They were so excited. I met John and James at site. [00:16:48] They were out there, busy little beavers. Their heads were turning just trying to think [00:16:52] of the things. They loved the site, loved the neighborhood, loved the city of New Port Richey. They were excited. I think just as excited as we are to have them help us. [00:17:05] This request is for $25,000 to get them going, plus not more than $3,500 in reimbursable [00:17:12] expenses if needed. This is what they're planning on doing to begin the programming and visioning [00:17:18] efforts. It's going to include a two-day on-site workshop that will be with each of [00:17:22] you and various stakeholders we decided to invite to that. They'll create a temporary [00:17:27] studio here on site and prepare preliminary site concepts. Then they'll take that back, [00:17:35] they'll take input, take it back to their offices and prepare a development concept [00:17:38] for us to work forward on. Budgeting, we have this in our budget. We've got 40,000 in professional [00:17:45] services for planning in the CRA and we also have 60,000 miscellaneous contractual services, [00:17:50] so that 25 is well within our 25-26 budget. I think you all kind of mentioned some of [00:17:57] the things earlier. We've got to revitalize downtown. We've got major redevelopment projects [00:18:01] happening in Villa Del Sol. We've got Swetman. We've got Rivergate Palm Properties that we've [00:18:05] got listed with Ken. We've got Railroad Square things happening, improvements down Grand [00:18:10] and the bridge at Grand. Let's just keep this ball rolling. River Road is an important [00:18:15] piece. It's the entrance to downtown, opportunity to draw people back and forth over the bridge [00:18:24] making our downtown district even bigger. We have to do this right. That's why we want [00:18:29] to hire a team to help us, lead us through this visioning process. That's why we're respectfully [00:18:34] seeking authorization for the Executive Director to engage ADS Sky to help us do that. [00:18:41] Any public comment? George Romagnoli, 6235 Florida Avenue. As an AICP planner, that sounds [00:18:59] really exciting what's going to be happening there. One thing I just would hope that you [00:19:04] would tell this firm is not to inhibit them in any design. Frankly, living in this city [00:19:10] for a long time, I just wonder how much city residents really use the boat launch. I wonder [00:19:16] if that's something that can go away. When they make the design of this, I hope they're [00:19:20] not inhibited that they have to keep that boat launch if it doesn't work in the design [00:19:24] to help the downtown area. That's my only comment, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. [00:19:34] You know, I have sat here tonight listening in both meetings about nothing about rebuilding [00:19:48] New Port Richey. I've lived here for 23 years and I'm glad to see all this redevelopment [00:19:54] and all. But in the time you guys have forgotten about the people that have lived here for [00:20:02] years and you are trying to get a bunch of new people to move into New Port Richey to [00:20:12] increase the tax and everything. But what about what's going on in our city and what's [00:20:19] happening? Look at the hurricane from 24 and what it did to our area. Our area needs to [00:20:31] have tons of redevelopment right here without redeveloping tons of other subdivisions. [00:20:45] All the taxes that come into here and a lot of taxes squandered ridiculously and you want [00:20:53] to bring in more redevelopment? What about the 17,500 people that you have here now and [00:21:09] the way that our city was destroyed in the 24 hurricane of Milton and Haleen? Come on [00:21:16] guys. Let's get some reality in this city. We can't keep building and building and drawing [00:21:29] more people here if we're not going to take care of what we've got now. [00:21:40] Anybody else would like to speak? Seeing no one come forward, we'll bring it back for [00:21:44] discussion and vote. I will make the motion to approve the request. I'll second. [00:21:52] Under the discussion, I appreciate the comments the public has made. Certainly the habits [00:22:03] and the lifestyle that the people have lived here are extremely important and so the efforts [00:22:09] that we're making to increase the viability of our city and the sustainability in the [00:22:15] long haul will require that anything that's done that's new will be done in a sustainable [00:22:21] way and will treat the new elevation requirements. There are many homes that did get destroyed [00:22:28] and they're below elevation and the city was helpful in allowing us to have those properties [00:22:36] fixed back up again. But it doesn't mean that their elevation is any taller or any higher. [00:22:43] And so there are risks to being in waterfront and the levels that we have. The Chamber of [00:22:51] Commerce flooded. It had to be redeveloped. That building was old and it was the same [00:22:58] with I believe Dr. Montemayor's office. Those opportunities came to us to find a silver [00:23:05] lining to start to rehab what was identified as a key part of our city. So we need more [00:23:13] than just property taxes. We may not have them that much. You may have the biggest bonus [00:23:17] coming if in fact people vote for the homeowners property tax relief. We don't know what's [00:23:24] going to happen to our property taxes. But while we have the chance to bring up the retail [00:23:31] and take advantage of the commercial revenue that we're trying to generate is important. [00:23:38] And to those businesses who've been here forever, many of whom have sold recently, it's hard [00:23:45] to understand. But when another restaurant comes in and a restaurant feels like they're [00:23:52] a part of it, our city now has so many more customers coming into it that it becomes an [00:24:00] attractive place to come and to walk around and to feel alive and to preserve our small [00:24:07] town charm. So I'm hopeful that we don't have a bunch of commercial enterprises that will [00:24:14] take business away from our restaurants. And I think that there'll be sensitivity in this [00:24:18] process where we'll all be discussing with the architect our vision of what that is. [00:24:24] So don't be scared by those pictures. That wasn't a 24-acre site for them. But we have [00:24:30] some exciting ideas to make our downtown walkable and to make it a place people want to come [00:24:36] and invest in. So balance is the answer. And I think that this gives everyone an opportunity [00:24:43] to put their two cents in. And I'm going to be very curious to see what comes out of it. [00:24:50] But I would like to add that the timing of that project, as to Greg Orvak's drawing at [00:24:57] one point about the other project we just approved to have the realtor promote for us, [00:25:04] and the circle around and the walkways and avoiding crossing the highway and making this [00:25:09] a more enjoyable and easy place for the residents, it is top of mind to make sure that there's [00:25:16] a quality of life improvement. And it may not be your house or a house that was flooded, [00:25:24] but increased sales tax, increased tax base, and the release of this CRA when it's done [00:25:30] will give the city so much more revenue to effect and hopefully help. But it doesn't [00:25:37] mean that the requests that were made earlier are off the table either. So I did not hear [00:25:42] an official, we couldn't do it, from the CRA. And I think that the comments made in public [00:25:48] conversation at the city meeting could be, I'd like to see us have, when we have separate [00:25:55] days, have a communications element here so that we can listen and respond. But it's not [00:26:02] on today's agenda. This was a quick turnaround meeting for this purpose, and I hope, Mr. [00:26:08] Chairman, that we can put community public comment back when we meet separately as a [00:26:18] CRA, because I think it's helpful to have people be able to give their ideas. But I'm [00:26:24] for it, and I'm excited for it, and I've been working since 1986 on our redevelopment of [00:26:30] our town. There was nobody on the streets. The drug store was gone, the hardware store [00:26:37] was gone, the lumber company was gone, West Bernado, I don't even know if they're in business [00:26:43] anymore, but they were gone. And there weren't many restaurants or activities in our town. [00:26:48] So every day I hear about people enjoying our city, and it's important to make sure [00:26:55] that you can continue to enjoy it, those of you who might think you'll be left out [00:27:01] to dry, and with respect to the business community, to encourage activity that will help create [00:27:08] more traffic in the town to help everyone. Thank you. [00:27:13] No, I appreciate Peter's comments. I mean, I've lived here for 48 years, so I know what [00:27:21] it was before, and I know what it is now, and it's great. I know not everybody agrees, [00:27:28] because some people want to keep it small and have nobody around. But ultimately, Florida [00:27:33] is the state that people want to move to, and especially New Port Richey, it's a very [00:27:39] desirable location. And I think what we're doing up here is extremely important, and [00:27:47] I just think these couple of parcels that we're talking about here are cornerstones [00:27:53] of coming into our city. So to me, I think they're great. I mean, obviously, as a boater, [00:28:01] I don't want to get rid of our boat ramp. So whatever we need to do to keep that, I [00:28:06] think that's important, because I think that is an asset to anybody who lives in the city [00:28:11] and who is on the river. So that will definitely be on the forefront for me when it comes to [00:28:17] this design phase. [00:28:18] Yeah, I think Councilman Aultman said it well, and Councilman Jonas, just talking about the [00:28:25] importance of revitalization and redevelopment, especially in our commercial areas, to basically
This text was generated automatically from the meeting video. It is not a verbatim or official record. For exact wording, consult the video or the city clerk.
- 4.c
Request to Authorize RFP26-002 Mural Artist for Verizon/Frontier Building
approvedThe CRA Board authorized RFP 26-002 to solicit a mural artist for the west-facing side of the Verizon/Frontier Building at Railroad Square (~3,600 sq ft). Staff will contact regional artists, including the artist who designed a previous Johnny Cash mural concept, and will bring recommendations back to the board, with the final mural also going through the Main Street Committee per existing ordinance.
- motion:Move to approve authorization of RFP 26-002 for a Mural Artist for the Verizon/Frontier Building. (passed)5–0
Frontier Building, Railroad SquareFrontierVerizonAultmanBrianGammonJonasMannsCaballero Sur Mer sister cityJohnny Cash mural designMain Street CommitteeRFP 26-002Railroad Square▶ Jump to 28:29 in the videoShow transcriptHide transcript
Auto-transcript · machine-generated, may contain errors
[00:28:32] keep our city alive. That helps generate income and funds to help in other areas in the city [00:28:40] that we need it, infrastructure, all those different areas. So I mean, it's important. [00:28:47] You have to keep it, like Councilman Aultman said, it's a balance, but you have to have [00:28:51] it, because if you stop, you can die, basically. [00:28:56] Yeah, a few comments on this one. First off, the land that's being considered here has [00:29:04] nothing on it right now, and Councilman Aultman reminded us that both of those properties [00:29:11] did flood. So in the spirit of trying to build better and to be better stewards of public [00:29:19] land and private development and to set standards that are safe and are sustainable and are [00:29:26] resilient, this is a perfect example of that, just on the commercial side. [00:29:30] And so there was a bit of a spirit of converse, there was a lot of spirit, and righteously [00:29:35] so, I feel it too, because I've been advocating for residential grant programs, I've been [00:29:41] advocating for investment into our communities. I want to see the same philosophy we have [00:29:46] here, which is to take what is vulnerable to flooding and do that in our communities [00:29:51] as well, with being able to provide support. So you have me there. [00:30:00] But I also don't think that we should ignore what we need to do commercially, because as [00:30:07] Councilman Altman rightfully pointed out, he reminded us of our history, where we did [00:30:14] have slumps of periods where we had businesses that went out. [00:30:18] And you need a pride in your downtown just as much as you do a place to live. [00:30:25] This has to be a place that's enjoyable, that we want to be proud of, that we want our children [00:30:31] growing up to want to stay. [00:30:33] And one of the main things that are going to get our children to stay is, one, having [00:30:36] the jobs, you know, the mom and pop jobs that get them started so they have a good story [00:30:40] to tell, having a good place to eat, having a good place to play, and having a good place [00:30:44] to grow up and have a family to take out. [00:30:46] So that's what a downtown can achieve, and this is one way to do that, of the many envisioned [00:30:53] both commercially and residentially. [00:30:55] There were a couple other comments made about, for example, the boat ramp. [00:31:00] I do agree that there is a better spot for the boat ramp. [00:31:04] I don't necessarily use the word the boat ramp needs to go away. [00:31:07] I think it's time to evaluate if that is the best spot for the boat ramp. [00:31:15] There needs to be river access. [00:31:16] We are a city on a river. [00:31:19] And so if it is decided through public input, through conversations up here with Councilman [00:31:25] Jonas, that that is the ideal spot for the boat ramp, then so be it. [00:31:30] But it's my personal opinion that that land is underused, is underutilized for the purpose, [00:31:36] and so that moving that boat ramp somewhere more strategic, both for boaters, creating [00:31:41] a better buffer for residents, creating, you know, having it kill two birds with one stone, [00:31:48] so to speak, where it's diverting some of the commercialization of residents down that [00:31:54] road and diverting that traffic closer to US-19, those are all things that I think should [00:31:59] be factored into whether that boat ramp stays there or is relocated. [00:32:03] But at no point in the conversation do I think it should just, we shouldn't have a boat ramp [00:32:08] in town, and I just want to be clear on that. [00:32:11] And Councilman Altman also reminded us that, you know, there's going to be plenty of opportunity [00:32:15] to speak to what that looks like. [00:32:18] There was a comment about, or that I observed about some of the photos, and Councilman Altman [00:32:23] pointed out that there, you know, some of those were like 24 acres, and so the level [00:32:28] of density, the level of scale sawn there were more for appreciating the scale of projects [00:32:33] and expertise of the services that are going to be rendered here. [00:32:37] But at the end of the day, I don't know if any of those really captured what we're hoping [00:32:41] to do here, because those are different cities, we're a unique city, and so what it's going [00:32:44] to look like for us, hopefully a city in the future that's going to entail those services [00:32:49] are going to see our beautiful project and go, wow, I need to go visit New Port Richey [00:32:53] because ours is just going to be as unique. [00:32:56] And then finally, a comment was made, I'm nitpicking here, but it's worth mentioning [00:33:02] since the conversation of residential came up, I don't believe that River Road is our, [00:33:07] and it wasn't said as only, but it was mentioned, River Road is an important part of our city, [00:33:12] a very important part of our city, but it's not our entrance to the downtown. [00:33:15] It's not our entrance to Main Street. [00:33:17] I very much think that lies on Grand Boulevard and along Van Buren, where a lot of our families [00:33:24] are, the presidential and state named streets, where our presidents dump into our downtown [00:33:30] and utilize our downtown. [00:33:33] Congress through Washington as well, where some of those are, if we're talking about [00:33:37] residential development, those are some of our forgotten, excuse me, our less focused [00:33:41] on areas for the very fact that they're so unclaved or developing in a way where there's [00:33:47] a need for annexation. [00:33:50] But yes, River Road is definitely a strategic element and often overdriven, but it's one [00:33:57] of many pieces that make our downtown what it is. [00:34:01] And I think we should be proud of all the neighborhoods that enjoy our downtown. [00:34:04] That's all I got. [00:34:07] I just, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, but one other thing is that there really hasn't been [00:34:12] a change in the ordinance for these properties that we're talking about. [00:34:16] We're just trying to develop already commercial properties. [00:34:19] So that's the only thing I want to add besides what these other four have already added. [00:34:23] So all those in favor, signify by aye. [00:34:26] Aye. [00:34:27] Aye. [00:34:28] That's five nothing. [00:34:29] The agenda item is to authorize RFP 26-002, Mural Artists for Verizon Frontier Building. [00:34:38] The agenda item is to request that you authorize a request for proposal to establish a mural [00:34:47] on the Frontier Building, which is located on Railroad Square, and Mr. Gammon, what can [00:34:57] you tell us about this agenda item? [00:35:00] Thank you, Ms. Manns. [00:35:01] I'll just add a little bit more. [00:35:02] This is the west-facing side of the property. [00:35:07] It's about 3,600 square feet. [00:35:08] It would be a major impact on Railroad Square. [00:35:12] What we plan to do with this RFP is contact a bunch of regional artists that would be [00:35:16] interested in doing this. [00:35:18] We will also contact the artist that designed the Johnny Cash. [00:35:21] You all might remember that design, too. [00:35:23] We worked on years ago to say, let's put that in the mix also, get a cost estimate [00:35:29] on that. [00:35:30] The goal is really to find a vibrant, funky, colorful, and outstanding opportunity really [00:35:35] to feature a prominent mural creation that everybody up there can say, yeah, this represents [00:35:41] the city of New Port Richey. [00:35:43] That's really what we're trying to do. [00:35:45] So with your recommendation, we're looking for authorization to proceed with this RFP [00:35:50] and have the executive director move forward on it. [00:35:53] Any public comment? [00:35:57] Seeing no one come forward, bring it back for discussion and vote. [00:35:59] Move to approve. [00:36:00] Second. [00:36:01] To the maker. [00:36:02] Two things. [00:36:03] The first one, will this ordinance have to go through the Main Street Committee for... [00:36:09] Will we have to run this through Main Street as our ordinance is written? [00:36:15] We'll be bringing this back to you. [00:36:19] Once we have some recommendations, unless you direct us otherwise. [00:36:27] Not the RFP, the actual mural we're making. [00:36:31] Because as the ordinance is written, doesn't it go through Main Street? [00:36:34] Yes, it does, so we will go through the process. [00:36:38] Yes. [00:36:39] Point of order, though. [00:36:40] Good point. [00:36:41] I mean, we have time after the RFP goes out to change our ordinance before we have to [00:36:45] worry about who's going to approve it. [00:36:48] That is true. [00:36:49] Something to consider. [00:36:50] I know I was being a little coy there, I apologize, but I think I already beat the horse dead [00:36:56] when I mentioned the ordinance earlier, so I thought I'd try to hit it with a rhetorical [00:37:00] question that time. [00:37:01] I do apologize for my demeanor. [00:37:04] The second point is, or the second thing I wanted to mention... [00:37:08] Nope, that's it, actually. [00:37:11] Yeah, no, I think this is the mural that will be there, whatever it is, is going to be very [00:37:18] important to that railroad square, and I look forward to seeing what comes of it and [00:37:25] what options come forward. [00:37:28] Brian? [00:37:29] I'm just excited, you know, I'm just happy that the Verizon people are allowing us to [00:37:35] put a mural on the side of the building, because honestly, to me, the building is like borderline [00:37:42] an eyesore for what's going to be a beautiful railroad square, I mean, just call it what [00:37:47] it is. [00:37:48] So I just think a mural is going to make it so much better looking, it's going to be very [00:37:53] visible, and obviously, I want to have a fair amount of input on what it's going to be, [00:37:57] so I'm looking forward to it. [00:38:01] I'm tempted to show you the mural plan that I had back in 1998, which got quite an alarming [00:38:10] response to it at the time, but it was a painting that was done for Caballero Sur Mer, for our [00:38:16] sister city, where Gulliver's travel kind of looking, a woman who came in the French [00:38:23] Alps as they fell into the ocean, hands out in the ocean and a little sailboat running [00:38:30] through it. [00:38:31] It was very artistic and apparently a little bit too forward for some people, but it's [00:38:41] a thing of beauty. [00:38:42] I'll see if I can find a copy of it. [00:38:45] I'd like to see it, yeah, please do. [00:38:48] This is just stage a half, it's not even stage one, so all those in favor signify by aye.
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- 5Adjournment▶ 38:55