HUD kicks in $'s to Assist in TOD Planning at 12 SunRail Stations

[Jdog]

By Dan Tracy, Orlando Sentinel
2:03 p.m. EST, November 21, 2011

The federal government awarded a $2.4 million grant Monday to a Metro Orlando planning agency to help devise development around 12 of the 17 stops that will serve the SunRail commuter train.

The money was part of $96 million handed out nationwide by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There were nearly $500 million worth of requests for the grants.

They are designed to "help communities and regions improve their economic competitiveness connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation," according to HUD.

The HUD award, which went to the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council in Altamonte Springs, is for the first phase, or 31 miles, on SunRail. It's scheduled to start carrying passengers in late 2014 and would run from DeBary in Volusia County through downtown Orlando to south Orange County.

Ed Jennings, HUD's regional director for the Southeast, said his agency wants to encourage development that will reduce travel by cars.

Video: Google, iTunes turn up the volume

"Never have to put your key in your car," Jennings said. "That's where we want to go."

Supporters contend more than 245,000 jobs from development around the stations will occur during the next 30 years. Eventually, SunRail will run for 61 miles.

Rida Development Corp. last week announced plans to build a $200 million development in downtown Orlando that would be linked to SunRail station at the Lynx bus headquarters.

The first phase could include a hotel and midrise apartment buildings of seven to 10 stories. Estimated to cost $100 million, it also would have ground-floor shops and restaurants.

dltracy@tribune.com or 407-420-5444.

Copyright © 2011, Orlando Sentinel



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-hud-transportation-orlando-20111121,0,2108823.story

[thelakelander]

^Nice.  Another positive spin off for Orlando for making an investment in fixed transit.  Btw, this is also a form of short term job creation.  Not everyone is in the roadway construction business or building industries.  Planners have to eat also.  Any idea on how much Jax got from this HUD grant?

[Jdog]

Denver and Charlotte were big winners ($4.5 and $4.9 million to each, respectively).  These two grants were for regional transit / sustainability planning.  Jacksonville, if it even submitted an application, received $0.



http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-274

[tufsu1]

Tampa also got a $1 million grant for a similar study last year

[fieldafm]

Some other interesting projects in that round of HUD grants:

Community Challenge Grant Award

The Mid-America Regional Council will be awarded $403,432 for the Sustainable Code Framework Initiative for the Kansas City Region.  The Council will allow first suburb communities, to align their codes and policies to encourage and foster sustainable development and redevelopment. The 19 members of the First Suburbs Coalition have worked together for almost ten years and this grant will afford them the opportunity to put in place a consistent set of sustainable-development, redevelopment-ready codes, policies and incentives.  In addition, the Green Impact Zone, a nationally recognized place-based initiative in the core of Kansas City, Missouri, is on the road to generating significant housing redevelopment as a catalyst for further development. This effort will help set in place sustainable development standards so that subsequent development will continue to enhance the community. These standards will promote quality, sustainable development in the neighborhood, while recognizing the necessity of not pricing development out of reach in a community that is just starting its revitalization.

Anticipated Project Benefits: 
•   Development of a Sustainable Code Framework
•   Audits of eight first suburban codes in light of the framework and code adoption
•   Development of a set of sustainable development standards for the Green Impact Zone
Funding Amount:      $403,432

Core Partners:   First Suburbs Coalition, Kansas City District Council of the Urban Land Institute, University of Missouri-Kansas City, City of Fairway, City of Roeland Park, City of Rayton, City of Gladstone, City Grandview, City of Independence, City of Mission, City of Prarie Village, Wyandotte County/Kansas City, KS

HUD Region:         7

Congressional District:   MO-005

This one focuses on a core section of neighborhoods within the urban core (kind of like Springfield, Durkeeville, La Villa).  This was spearheaded by a private neighborhood organization, not guvment.

[fieldafm]

Community Challenge Grant Award

The City of Grand Rapids will be awarded $459,224 for the Michigan Street Corridor Plan. The plan will engage urban anchor institutions, particularly institutions of higher education and academic medical centers, in a collaborative partnership with local government, community stakeholders, landowners, neighborhood residents, and business owners to develop a comprehensive, integrated model that will advance housing, economic and community development, transportation, and environmental outcomes to ensure a sustainable future for Grand Rapids and the West Michigan region. Multiple transportation modes, land development capacities, housing types and price points, target markets and accessibility/mobility options must be thoroughly examined to alleviate traffic congestion, accommodate additional land development, and ensure access to housing and needed services for disadvantaged populations if desired outcomes are to be achieved. The strategy will work to balance quality housing choices to serve populations that can benefit from being in close proximity to jobs, employment centers, and educational institutions in order to insure that neighborhood services are available to residents and workers; with the proper transportation and green infrastructure is in place that will create a sustainable and livable community.

Anticipated Project Benefits:
•   Devise a comprehensive transportation strategy and corridor plan
•   Develop a housing investment program to increase the number of employees, students, and faculty living in or around the Michigan Street corridor
•   Creation and/or preserve affordable housing within the Michigan Street corridor area
Funding Amount:      $459,224

Core Partners:   Grand Valley Metro Council, Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids Community College, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority, Grand Rapids Parking Services, The Rapid, Grand Valley State University, Michigan Street Corridor Association, Frey Foundation, Dyer-Ives Foundation, Grand Rapids SmartZone, MSHDA, Grand Rapids Community Development Department, Grand Rapids Community Foundation

HUD Region:         5

Congressional District:   MI-003

[fieldafm]

Community Challenge Grant Award

The City of Phoenix will be awarded $2,935,634 for Reinvent Phoenix: Cultivating Equity, Engagement, Economic Development and Design Excellence with TOD.  The City will create a new model for urban development in Phoenix â€" one that increases quality of life while maintaining desirability and attainability for the entire spectrum of incomes, ages, family sizes, and physical and developmental abilities along the light rail corridor.  The Reinvent Phoenix program will eliminate physical and institutional barriers to TOD and catalyze livable, sustainable development through planning, regulatory reform, innovative infrastructure designs, economic development incentives, capacity building, and affordable housing implementation activities; demonstrate regional benefits of transit oriented development through the design and implementation of pilot projects for economic development, housing and infrastructure; and involve residents in identifying strategic improvements that will enhance safe, convenient access to quality, affordable housing; well-paying jobs; education and training programs; fresh food and healthcare services.

Anticipated Project Benefits: 
•   Increased public participation in planning and decision-making
•   Reduced energy consumption and associated environmental and economic impacts
•   Increased redevelopment opportunities to improve housing affordability and economic development opportunities on vacant and underutilized land
•   Increased local capacity to implement equitable, healthy, environmentally-sensitive transit oriented development (TOD), and
•   Improved walkability and accessibility to fresh healthy food, employment, education and healthcare.Funding Amount:      $2,935,634

Core Partners:   Arizona State University, St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Luke’s Health Initiative, Mountain Park Health Center, METRO, Discovery Triangle Development Corp. Urban Land Institute (ULI), American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Southwest Autism Research Center (SARRC), Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL), Phoenix Union High School District, Maricopa Community Colleges, Art Link, Local First Arizona, Native American Connections, Gorman and Co. Inc, Cloudbreak Phoenix LLC, Bethel Development Inc., NRP Group, Desco Inc.

HUD Region:         9

Congressional District:   AZ-004

[fieldafm]

Community Challenge Grant Award

The City of Boston will be awarded $1,865,160 for the Fairmount Line Smart Growth Corridor Project. The project will conduct planning and strategic land acquisition to facilitate mixed-use and transit-oriented development along the Fairmount Commuter Rail Line in conjunction with the construction of four new stations and improvements to existing stations.  The Fairmount Line is a 9.2 mile commuter rail service running from Boston’s multi-modal central transit station in downtown Boston (South Station) and terminating at the Readville section of Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood.  With only three stations between South Station and Readville, the Fairmount Line runs through, but does not really serve, the primarily low-income neighborhoods along the line.  The project will increase the number and percentage of residents living, the number of affordable housing units, and the number of businesses and jobs within ½ of a transit stop.

Anticipated Project Benefits: 
•   To provide improved access to transit for residents of the neighborhoods along the line, connecting them to job centers and downtown
•   To expand affordable housing opportunities and employment opportunities near transit for the residents of the neighborhoods by strategic land acquisition, site assembly and disposition for Transit-Oriented Development projects near the new and existing stations.
•   To reduce the number of vacant, underutilized or abandoned properties in the neighborhood by assisting the acquisition, planning, disposition and redevelopment of key privately-owned and City â€"owned parcels along the Fairmount Corridor.
Funding Amount:      $1,865,160

Core Partners:   Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), Fairmount/Indigo Line Community Development Corporation Collaborative, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Boston Main Streets, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Boston Transportation Department (BTD)

HUD Region:         1

Congressional District:   MA-009

This one is being used to spur mixed-use development along four strategically placed transit stations along the commuter rail line.

[fieldafm]

Community Challenge Grant Award

The City of Garland, TX will be awarded $106,500 for the Centerville Marketplace Repositioning Strategy.  Through this strategy, the City and its partners seek to pioneer a new model of transforming distressed auto-dependent retail centers into vibrant mixed-use activity centers. Garland is transitioning from a fast-growing first-ring Dallas suburb to a mature urban city with all of the related issues that come with that status. With vacant developable land increasingly scarce, Garland must concentrate its efforts on redeveloping commercial districts that no longer meet consumer preferences and that rely solely on automobile access. Centerville Marketplace has historically served as one of the community’s key commercial centers. The economy in combination with the age of the center and changes in consumer demand have led to a rise in commercial vacancy. However recent public transportation investments and evidence of private sector interest make this an opportune time to revisit the configuration and tenant mix of Centerville Marketplace. Revising the now-outdated development regulations will help facilitate real estate and business investment that meets current market demand. Additionally, involving residents and community stakeholders in crafting a new vision for the center, one based in market reality, will enable this new investment to meet community aspirations.

Anticipated Project Benefits:
•   Broaden the housing construction opportunities within the Planning Area through amendments to the zoning codes with a basis in market reality and in accord with the community’s vision
•   Develop policies and programs the city can apply to other centers and communities suffering a higher proportion of distressed retail property
Funding Amount:      $106,500

Core Partners:   DART, Garland Chamber of Commerce, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Texas Department of Transportation

HUD Region:         6

Congressional District:   TX-003, 004, & 005

These guys are constructing an aquarium (sound familiar?), BUT what's important here is that there development has been saved by a WalMart who will fit into the framework of a high density commercial development instead of a low density sprawling development, along a major arterial.

[thelakelander]

^One thing I notice with the winners of these grants is that they have already put their money into something significant and the grant projects basically support those efforts.  Locally, what have we done to help improve our economic competitiveness connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation, in relation to urban sustainability?  The mobility plan had the potential to move us in that direction but we put it in the freezer.

[simms3]

The federal government is no longer in the business of investing in cities that have not or will not invest in themselves.  This at least applies to transit and infrastructure projects 

Jax passed the mobility fee, but it never even got to the part where it collected fees and then reinvested that money into road, transit, and pedestrian projects.

[fieldafm]

The mobility plan had the potential to move us in that direction but we put it in the freezer.

That is an aspect of the moratorium that really has gotten overlooked.  Just like Lori Boyer mentioned about Council being more receptive to one's ideas if they are organized and have identified sources of funding... having funding in place for projects in the mobility plan would have better attracted matching monies from federal or private organizations and get shovels in the dirt.

Virtually no short terms jobs will be created with the moratorium, and this is amplified b/c it eliminates the possibility for both short term and long term economic prospects stemming from capital improvement projects identified in the Mobility plan.

One thing I learned during this recession is the critical need to reinvest in yourself while others chose not to.  That's the only way you're going to get ahead in business or in life.

[fsujax]

The City's Planning Department did submit a grant.

[fieldafm]

What was the grant for?

Here is the list of who all was awarded the grants in case anyone is curious http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-274 

[thelakelander]

I believe it was for money to help Clay, Nassau and St. Johns do mobility plans and for cash to buy down mortgages in distressed neighborhoods, making it more affordable to move into the urban core or something close along those lines.   However, I'll reiterate that it seems like most winners have already put their financial skin into the sustainability game.