Historic Millwork District Master Plan_Staff MemosTHE CITY OF Dubuque
DUB E ~~
i r
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
2007
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Council Work Session to Present a Final Draft of the Historic Millwork
District Master Plan
DATE: January 29, 2009
Enclosed is the material from Economic Development Director Dave Heiar for the City
Council Work Session on the Historic Millwork District Master Plan to be held on
February 2, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
V
~i L
Mich I C. Van Milligen
MCVM/jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
David J. Heiar, Economic Development Director
Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
Jennifer Larson, Budget Director
Sheila Samuelson, Sustainability Coordinator
THE CTTY OF ~,~
DUB E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
Dubuque
~~~
.®~.~
2007
TO: Michael Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: David J. Heiar Economic Develo ment Director ~-~-s
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SUBJECT: Council worksession to present a final draft of the Historic Millwork District
Master Plan
DATE: January 27, 2009
INTRODUCTION
This memorandum presents for City Council consideration the Historic Millwork District
Master Plan developed by the Cuningham Group and Economics Research Associates
(ERA).
BACKGROUND
As an outgrowth of the Envision 2010 process, members of the "Warehouse District"
committee saw the need to define the Warehouse District through a master plan
process. Both the public and private partners have sensed the need to define the long
range plan for the district, to anticipate and guide future investment and to ensure
quality development.
The committee also prepared the Warehouse District Revitalization Strategy that was
approved by the Dubuque City Council on August 6, 2007. The first goal of that
strategy was to develop a Master Plan for the Warehouse District.
Funding for the Plan came mostly from a grant from the Economic Development
Administration (EDA) as well from the four major property owners, local businesses, and
Dubuque Initiatives.
Through a competitive bidding process, the Cuningham Group demonstrated to the
selection committee that they had the most capability and creativity to help the
community create a Master Plan for the District. A contract with the Cuningham Group
and ERA was approved on June 2, 2008 by the City Council.
DISCUSSION
The Cuningham Group work began with a two day (June 25-27) visit to the community
where several focus groups were conducted to quickly learn about the Historic Millwork
District and to get community input. The consultants met with the business community,
city staff, the City Council, property owners, the Envision 2010 committee, Dubuque
Main Street, a general public meeting inviting the entire community and other
stakeholders for their input. Cuningham then gave a presentation to the steering
committee to outline what they had learned from the visit and gave a rough design of
what they considered to be the next steps to developing the plan.
City staff then provided direction over the next few months to prepare for the second
input trip held October 7-8, 2008. The same focus groups met again with the
consultants to be exposed to the work to date and a preliminary development summary
for the district.
A draft of the Master Plan was delivered to City Staff and the Steering committee for
their review at the end of December 2008. The committee met and gave their
comments on the plan to the consultants and those comments have been incorporated
into the plan.
The deliverables attached to this memo are 1) the Historic Millwork Master Plan; 2)
Demographic and Market context; and 3) Financial Analysis Summary.
The Master Plan is broken down into 4 sections, District Identity, Project Goals,
Sustainable Systems, and the Development Summary.
The District Identity section outlines the history and potential of the Historic Millworking
District. It defines the rich history of millworking in Dubuque, the architectural character
of the buildings in the district, the connections to other areas of the community, and the
cultural amenities in the area.
The Project Goals section outlines that the success of the district depends on several
goals being met. The following are those goals stated in the Plan:
• Showcase the area as a model for sustainability
• Balance the circulation system
• Create a connected public realm
• Reinforce the historical and cultural identity
• Establish a coordinated parking strategy
• Create a range of employment and housing opportunities
The Sustainable Systems section describes the sustainable measures being envisioned
for the district. The district is an opportunity to achieve a quality redevelopment and this
plan outlines the areas of consideration for sustainable improvements. The sustainable
measures are broken into 5 categories:
• Water
• Energy
• The Built Environment
• Vegetation and Open Space
• Arts and Culture
The final section of the plan defines an intended schedule of improvements to the
district which will help achieve its successful redevelopment. The actual time frame fro
each phase will depend on the local market, however the recent announcement by IBM
will certainly increase the pace for redevelopment of this District. The following is a
outline of each of the three phases identified in the Master Plan, as shown on the
attached map.
Phase I
The Caradco Complex, the Alamo Building, and 10th Street will become the mixed-use
center of the District. A new plaza around the Alamo will become the District's year
round gathering place and a showcase of sustainable techniques and technologies.
Creative designs for the preservation of buildings will both honor their past and prepare
them for the future. The major highlights of this phase include:
• 200 Housing units
• 100,000 square feet of retail space
• A 200 car parking solution
• Street reconstruction or improvement along 10t" Street and the intersection of
10t" and Washington Streets (Washington St. from 9t" to 11t" and 10t" St. from
Jackson to Elm are currently private streets and we need to address how these
segments are improved)
• Estimated total (public and private) cost of $46,400,000. The public infrastructure
costs are broken down into the following categories:
o Street reconstruction: $3.9 million
o Streetscape improvements: $621,500
o Phase 1 structured parking: $2.5 million
o Total phase 1 infrastructure cost of $7.1 million
Phase II
Redevelopment of the Kirby Building, Farley Loetscher Building and Wilmac Building
into offices/residential will infuse the District with a lively daytime population. Seventh
Street will be a critical pedestrian connection between the District, Downtown, and the
Port. The major recommendations for this phase include:
• Redevelop each of the three large warehouse buildings with a mix of uses
including offices, residential and retail.
• Develop a single multistory parking structure adjacent to the Kirby Building.
• Redesign 7th Street as an address to the Kirby Building and Farley Loetscher
Buildings well as a connection between Downtown and the Port.
Phase III
The north section of the district will be improved to create a transition from the large
scale Millwork buildings to the Washington neighborhood's traditional row houses. New
construction will help facilitate this transition. The major recommendations for the
phase include:
• Redevelop the Washington neighborhood edge to create a positive transition to
the Millwork District.
• Redesign 11t" Street as a green street, with two way traffic and ample
landscaping.
• Realign Elm and Pine Street to create a developable block on the east edge of
the District. Develop this block with amulti-story gateway building.
The Demographic and Market Context prepared by ERA outlines the Dubuque are
demographics and the potential for urban space in the community. The study found that
supply of downtown urban housing is not being met in the community and that there is
initial demand for 250-500 new units. According to the consultant, commercial and
retail uses tend to follow residential and should enough critical mass of housing be
created, new support businesses will begin to locate in the district.
The Financial Analysis Summary outlines in detail the first phase of the Historic Millwork
District plan to determine the costs and potential funding shortfalls of the redevelopment
schedule. The first phase is estimated to cost $46,400,000 and that cost is expected to
be filled with many layers of private, federal, state and local sources. Of key importance
to the financial feasibility is finding non-private sources to fill financing gaps equal to the
benefit of federal and state historic tax credits. These credits are needed to allow the
developers to achieve a reasonable financial return to compensate them for their
assumed risk.
ACTION STEP
I am requesting that the City Council review the information provided for the scheduled
worksession. It is intended to seek council approval of the Master Plan at a later
Council meeting.
F:\USERS1Adejong\Warehouse District\Master Plan\20090127 Master Plan worksession memo.doc