Item A: City Council Priority Issue - City Hall Complex

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Additional Cost Information The council asked the design team to provide additional cost information on fully renovating the existing City Hall, and seismically upgrading the existing City Hall. The design team compiled a Statement of Probable Cost to responsibly and fully renovate the existing City Hall as part of previous research efforts to cost model the renovation options. The conservative range of this study identified $37 million in construction costs and $13 million in soft costs, for a project cost total of $50 million. Refer to Attachment D for a City Hall Refurbishing Statement of Probable Cost (outlining construction costs), and note that all cost models received a consistent 1.35 soft cost multiplier to arrive at total project costs. The same study identified a line item cost for seismic upgrades. As an isolated number including construction, contingencies, markups and soft costs, the figure totals approximately $4.3 million, but excludes significant related items such as abatement and demolition, architectural repairs, mechanical and electrical system repairs or relocations, and a reasonable contingency for unforeseen costs to perform the upgrade completely. Estimating the cost of a seismic upgrade in the context of its related work would require a separate research effort, but an approximate cost model range is $8 million – $10 million. Interest in the Existing City Hall Facility Management staff contacted over 300 non-profit agencies in an attempt to gauge community interest in the re-use of the City Hall building for a purpose that would provide community benefit in some manner. Staff invited agencies to submit Statements of Interest in City Hall, provided information packets on the facility, and held an open house to allow interested parties to ask questions and tour the building. Only one Statement of Interest (from DIVA – Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts) was received and is included as Attachment E. Simultaneously, Community Development staff sought to gauge interest in the value and potential of the City Hall site for private, market-rate development opportunities by conducting individual interviews with six local private developers. Based on these interviews, it appears that the demand for private re-use of the building may be low and the financial feasibility for re-use would be challenging. Non-profit uses that do not require a return on investment, or office uses that required only minor building improvements were cited as the most likely redevelopment scenario. There was speculation that the lease of the building’s below-grade parking may have greater economic value than the lease of the building. There was a general consensus among the interviewees that the block would likely have greater redevelopment potential if the building is removed. However, there was little confidence that such redevelopment would occur in the near future given current market conditions, including construction costs, lease rates, and vacancy rates. A detailed summary of the interview questions and responses is included in Attachment F. Police Consolidation Options At the April 26, 2006, work session, the council adopted three Police consolidation options for use in ongoing planning efforts related to the City Hall Complex: 1) Option B that consolidates all Police functions with the rest of City Hall on a single site; 2) Option C that consolidates all Police functions except patrol with the rest of City Hall and provides for a separate patrol facility nearby; and 3) Option D that consolidates all Police functions except patrol with the rest of City Hall and provides for a separate patrol facility in a more remote location outside the downtown area. Because all the potential City Hall sites can support any of the Police consolidation L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060920\S060920A.doc