Bill Type and Number: Ordinance 2007-273

Sponsor: Council President at the request of the JEDC

Date of Introduction: March 13, 2007

Committee(s) of Reference: F, ECID

Date of Analysis: March 16, 2007

Type of Action: Amendment to previous redevelopment agreement

Bill Summary: The bill amends the redevelopment agreement among the City, the JEDC and Fidelity National Financial (Fidelity) to clarify the allocation of 1.2 million square feet of development rights originally granted by the City to Computer Power, Inc., to extend the expiration date of such development rights from 2007 to 2010, and to authorize the transfer of some of the development rights by Fidelity to the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust (duPont). The revised redevelopment agreement provides that the reassignment of development rights from Fidelity to the duPont Trust is subject to approval by the JEDC Executive Director, is limited to already-approved uses, and is subject to review and approval by the JEDC Design Review Committee. The revised agreement also provides that the duPont Trust is not subject to conditions other than DRI conditions that may have been connected with Fidelity’s development rights, and provides that any duPont development rights remaining unused as of December 2010 shall revert to Fidelity.

Background Information: In 1993 the City entered into an economic redevelopment agreement with Computer Power, Inc. for the expansion of the company’s site on Riverside Drive and the construction of up to 1.2 million square feet of new office space within the City’s downtown west community development district. In the intervening years Computer Power Inc. merged with Alltel and eventually was acquired by Fidelity National Financial. A 2003 redevelopment agreement between the City and Fidelity approved the development of a 285,817 sq. ft. project, but did not directly address the status of the remaining development rights originally assigned to Computer Power. This bill expressly transfers the remainder of those development rights to Fidelity, and permits Fidelity to re-transfer a portion of those rights (175,000 sq. ft.) to the duPont Trust for a project on land sold by Fidelity to the Trust. It also extends the expiration date of the development rights from October 1, 2007 to December 31, 2010.

Policy Impact Area: Downtown/Brooklyn development rights

Fiscal Impact: None

Analyst: Clements