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Volume 4, Issue 3 |
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March 2007 |
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Editorial Commentary Table of Contents:
The Mann Hall
Redevelopment Project Principals Important Effort to Shape the Future of Spokane’s NE District! As time passes, more people have expressed interest and concern about Mann Hall and the Redevelopment Effort that Hillyard citizens have been involved in since early 2006. To provide some background on the efforts and to bring us all up to date, I offer the following observations. Knowing NE Spokane has a host of concerned people with their own opinions, I hope this will bring forward lots of follow-on comments. Public discussion of the principles and issues will get us where we want to go: a completed, common vision of Redevelopment we can all support and submit to the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), when the rapidly-approaching time comes. Principle One: Save what we have. § History and unique character. One of the few neighborhoods in Spokane—in the Inland Northwest, for that matter—with a continuous, active and celebrated history, Hillyard and its sister NE neighborhoods are unique in their daily reference to past identity. The impact of Hill’s Yard, with the Kaiser Smelter and the mining and timber industries of the region as their products passed through our local workforces built an indelible pride of place and heritage. The Mann Hall redevelopment must recognize this history, and build on the area’s work ethic and pride of craft to regain the vibrancy of the NE neighborhoods’ past. § NE Community Center. The hub of the NE Communities’ daily social activities, NECC provides a home for a key number of social services organizations that provide tens of thousands of hours of assistance to local citizens. The Community Center is the place to go for many community meetings of all sizes. Few realize however that NECC supports itself on the continuing rents and fundraising activities of the Social Services agencies who are its tenants. Mann Hall could help the community clarify the roles of the social services agencies relative to other kinds of Community support and development. But it would be a disservice to the Community to endanger NECC’s sustainability by either establishing competing space for nonprofits in Mann Hall, or setting up another organization that competed for the funding that the current NECC nonprofits need to exist. Principle Two: Economic Development Focus. § Community-based Employment. After social needs are cared for, the NE Neighborhoods’ basic need is for appropriate and permanent employment for its workers. By virtue of present and projected housing, other residential infrastructure, and projections of education and income, the majority of the area’s residents will continue to be members of the blue-collar workforce. Yet recent studies show that NE area residents are the most dependent in the region on commuting to get to work outside their neighborhoods. Plenty of potential exists in the East half of the neighborhoods, on the far side of the projected “North Spokane Corridor”, for light industrial development. To the immediate north lies some of the largest tracts of vacant land in the metro area. Bringing these two elements together (a ready source of labor and industrial potential) in the NE neighborhood is an obvious future goal for economic development. Mann Hall’s redevelopment is a logical time to accept this goal, and the LRA Advisory Committee should accept Economic Development of Spokane’s neighborhoods as its first focus. Principle Three: Pay our own way. § Mann Hall should stand on its own feet. A foolish Committee might ignore the potential funding available from governments to establish a Center like Mann Hall. The Office of Economic Adjustment (which manages the BRAC Process in the OSD) manages funds to help communities make the initial adjustments. The National Corporation for Community Services may offer manpower assistance. Other, short-term assistance may be available to bring the Redevelopment Authority to a sustainable basis. But planning should state as a second principle: once the management operation is established successfully, the responsibility for its continuing operation, including all funding, should be on the shoulders of the designated management team. This is not a difficult condition to meet. The Mann Hall property is in an attractive commercial location, with ample open space and an ideal location for key community attractions. For three seasons, the fenced area is ideal for an open-air flea market and public market place as an attraction to all county residents. The office and administrative spaces are eminently useful as office and management spaces. A commercial kitchen is on site, excellent communication facilities exist, and a commercial vehicle maintenance facility on the property is another ideal rental space. Considering other large commercial properties that will be more or less available after the NSC finally comes through the NE Neighborhoods, Mann Hall’s location would be ideal to supervise their management for community benefit. The management team would be experienced and in perfect location to extend their expertise to this purpose. Principle Four: Focus on the needs of the community, not the needs of the agencies. § “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. (TAANSTAFL)” is a well known management principle. No agency or organization will come to the Local Redevelopment Authority offering support activities or funding unless they also benefit from the offer. Such is the nature of business, governments and so on. This does not mean that the offers considered cannot be woven into the fabric of an overall vision for the NE Neighborhoods. An urgent step for the LRA Committee as they develop their draft proposal for the Mann Hall Redevelopment should be to pause to see what (a) opportunities exist in the NE Neighborhoods, (b) is needed in terms of economic development, and (c) what the organizations in Mann Hall’s future activities can contribute to filling the gap The result could be a plan that targets Mann Hall’s future activities toward real community needs, rather than toward needs of agencies which have a collateral community benefit. Principle Five: Create a Vision for the Long Term, but think about tomorrow and next week. One of Hillyard’s enduring characteristics is its reputation for “independence.” More than one observer’s commented that “If you want to see meetings, go to City Council, but if you want to see a fight, go to Hillyard’s meetings.” At a recent Steering Committee gathering, one member affirmed that though our neighborhood may argue in public, we all get back together later to work for the good of everyone, with no hard feelings. Our internal disagreements show that each of us cares about this great neighborhood, and our traditional, out-in-the-open wrangles show that we want the best for it. Our normal, informal ways of getting things done work just fine for the regular, yearly schedule of events. But with the Mann Hall project, three things are different. First is the timing. For a range of reasons, we find ourselves starting the BRAC planning effort almost a full year behind, in a schedule that was set up for all of the communities across the country where US Military bases and sites are being closed. Whenever the Mann Hall LRA does get off the ground, the Advisory Committee appointed by the City Council will have a very short time to get things under way. The community’s plan (the LRA Advisory Committee’s proposal for DOD and HUD) must be drafted, revised, reviewed by City Departments and approved by the City Council by end of March, 2007. (That’s 165 days from this writing, 10/20/2006). Second are the stakes. Mann Hall as a facility can be a crucial part of an economic redevelopment for the entire North End of Spokane. The facility itself (with established administrative and storage facilities, vehicle maintenance capacity and unique open areas) offer unparalleled opportunity to create a center for both planning and carrying out economic development activities that go far beyond the proposed experiments of past “authorities.” The facility has a value exceeding $7 Million in real estate worth, but its value as a community facility may surpass even that of the NE Community Center, if its potential as a planning center for industrial and commercial development, as a site for community and commercial (e.g., farmers & flea markets) enterprises, as a venue for community attractions (e.g., museums, displays, concerts, fairs, etc.) can be developed. Third are the consequences of failure. With such a short lead-time, the LRA Advisory Committee has a great many tasks to complete: § Determine the LRA “ground rules” and the BRAC requirements for the future use of the facility, § Organize Public Hearings, § Provide appropriate information to prospective tenants, § Receive proposals from the parties desiring and able to meet the BRAC requirements, and § Weave the responses into a coherent scheme that can be managed as a proposal for the City. § The City in turn must review and provide any additional information to the proposal before it goes to § DOD and HUD for review and approval. According to the guidance provided by OSD’s Office of Economic Adjustment, surplus (BRAC) facilities that do not achieve the appropriate planning for local use, can be simply sold by DOD to the highest bidder. The Mann Hall property has a very high potential for local real estate development as a commercial property, independent of its potential community role. If we are unable to prepare the case justifying Mann Hall as a facility benefiting the community, it’s possible we could lose this one-time opportunity to commercial development Because of these things, we don’t have time to go through our traditional community wrangling process. We need to develop—and fast—a coherent community view of how we would use this wonderful opportunity. An “Economic Development Overview” could include some of the following ideas (in no particular order):
It is probably true that our heritage is one of aggressive progress and tumultuous discussion. It is also one of economic misfortune, mostly from over-reliance on only one or two principal employment sources. Mann Hall’s redevelopment can help us to overcome this history. We need to treat this opportunity with a deliberate, unified and long-term orientation. We need an “overview” vision that we can all embrace. At the same time, we need to make sure the Mann Hall management is done in ways that keep it in business. One of the BRAC rules is, that if the local redevelopment authority fails to maintain the activities that satisfy the transfer agreements (and the regulations of the federal agencies they implement), the property can revert to the Federal government and be sold to others. Other communities have developed nonprofit corporations to manage their BRAC/LRA properties. With a representative Board of Directors, the nonprofits usually operate the facilities as real estate management businesses, with revenues from rents and use fees covering operating and personnel expenses, taxes, maintenance and other costs. “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” principle applies to Mann Hall, especially. It must pay for itself as it approaches other objectives, or we will lose it. So, the biggest jobs of the LRA Advisory Committee will be: § Collect information and create the vision that the whole community can support, § Identify and promote uses for the facility that support the vision while meeting the Federal/BRAC guidelines and the mandates of State and City Planning regulations, and § Determine the best management structure and procedures needed to make the proposals a sustainable reality. No piece of cake. And only 158 days to get it done.Establishing the Mann Hall
Local Redevelopment Authority Background. The Base Relocation and Closure (BRAC) process is a part of federal law involving many federal agencies, local communities and an unlimited number of other groups who choose to be a part of redeveloping federal properties that are declared surplus to current needs. The BRAC process is basically the “ground rules” for how the activities must proceed. One of the earliest phases is a periodic review by government agencies (notably the DOD) to identify certain facilities to close or relocate to modernize or economize government missions. The latest BRAC review identified several smaller Armed Forces Reserve installations for closure in connection with consolidation of these units’ missions. Mann Hall, long the home of a deployable US Army Reserve Medical Hospital and related activities, was one of two Reserve units in Spokane County identified for closure. The 2005 BRAC process identified certain milestones for closing these facilities. The scheduled activities apply across the entire country, and to all communities that intend to convert the installations to local use. These guidelines were announced in September 2005, at a conference of all federal agencies involved in the transfers and “sponsorship” of BRAC-identified facilities. By January 2006, several concerned citizens in the NE Neighborhoods began to wonder if Mann Hall—already identified by the US Army for closure--was going to be considered by local governments for community use. Upon investigation, they discovered that both the City and the County had told the Regional Reserve Headquarters at Fort Lawton (Seattle) that they had no plans to become the Local Redevelopment Authority. When a visitor from Fort Lawton came to Spokane to urge County and City officials to reconsider, these community representatives asked to meet with the Army Reserve representative. The community members discovered that by February 2006, no agency had stepped up to volunteer to lead the drive to bring Mann Hall into community service.
Since it was clear that Spokane City and Spokane County had no designs on Mann Hall, in March and April, Hillyard leaders contacted other interested parties. The message: if they wanted to dedicate Mann Hall for community uses, they should meet quickly to discuss possibilities. At the group’s request in March, Mann Hall personnel gave the group a tour of the buildings and grounds. At the close of the tour, the group met privately, and agreed to request recognition by the DOD—as a private group--as a Local Redevelopment Authority. In honor of the Army officer who originally led the establishment of Mann Hall in the Hillyard Community, the group called itself the Colonel John E Velonois Committee. Within one week, group members committed private funds and efforts to create the plans for community use of Mann Hall, and pledged to carry out the community leadership roles demanded of a LRA by the BRAC Regulations. The group planned to cover its own costs, and expected no support from the City or other governmental bodies. The Velonois Committee sent a letter to officials at Fort Lawton requesting recognition as a Local Redevelopment Authority in late May. Mr. Steve McKee referred the Committee to the Office of Economic Adjustment, DOD’s agency designated to recognize local LRAs. Committee members phoned and wrote letters of intent to the OEA immediately. In late June, the Colonel Velonois Committee requested the City Council to consider an ordinance recognizing the group as the LRA for Spokane in the case of Mann Hall. On July 1, members of the Velonois Committee and other Hillyard groups presented their case before the City Council. After the presentation, but before City Council action, Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession declared that despite previous intentions, the City was now fully interested in becoming the Local Redevelopment Authority for Mann Hall. He stressed that a facility with as much positive potential must be a city asset, and should therefore be managed and directed from the outset by City authority. Further, he indicated that although he was grateful for the enthusiasm of the local Hillyard leaders, it was clear to him (and apparently City staff) that the focus of the Colonel Velonois Committee was too narrow to represent the interests of the entire City. At that meeting, City Council received a draft ordinance from the administration, requesting authority for the City to pursue an appointment as the Mann Hall Local Redevelopment Authority, and proposing a 7-member Advisory Committee appointed by the Council but nominated by the Mayor’s Office. Upon review, the Council separated the two parts of the City’s recommendation. First, they set aside the volunteer Velonois Committee proposal by adopting instead a resolution that the City staff should request designation as the Mann Hall Local Redevelopment Authority. Second, the Council postponed consideration of the Advisory Committee until a later meeting. The Colonel John E Velonois Committee of volunteers was turned down as being too narrow of focus and incapable of promoting the City’s broader interests. But in its next meeting, the City Council modified the proposed membership of the Mann Hall LRA Advisory Committee by dropping the City Staff Voting member and increasing the LRA Advisory Committee’s membership from seven to nine. Included will be both District One Council Representatives, Representatives each from the Banking Community, the Real Estate Industry, local Education activities, the general business community, and social services/homeless relief providers. Finally, one representative will come from District One community organizations and one from the North Market Street business district.
The ordinance creating the Mann Reserve Center Local Redevelopment Authority Advisory Committee passed the City Council in September. Members of the Committee will be nominated by the Mayor from a list of volunteers who have completed the City’s general Committee Application, which is available on the “City Government/Boards & Committees” tab on the City of Spokane Website. The City is accepting applications as of this date (October 21, 2006), and no deadline has been stated. A source in City Hall reported that more than 12 applications have been received. What’s Next? Nominating and confirming members of the LRA Advisory Committee is both obviously and urgently important, due to the large amount of work the Committee must put together in a very short time frame. Some key deadlines have already passed in the BRAC guidelines, and that schedule was created for the entire country—all units that are closing and their surrounding communities. Spokane’s LRA Committee has a lot of ground to cover and a lot of time to make up. As a minimum effort, the LRA Committee will have to do the following:
If this looks like a lot of work—it is! And the LRA Committee has until March-April 2007 (take a look at the deadline table, above) to get it all done. We really ought to get started.
Public Meeting Set for Jan. 10 to Help Determine the Future
Use of Mann Center.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2006 Contact: Luke Tolley, Vice Chair Marlene Feist LRA Advisory Committee Public Affairs Officer (509) 475-3509 (509) 625-6740 ********************************************** PUBLIC MEETING SET FOR JAN. 10 TO HELP DETERMINE FUTURE USE OF MANN CENTER ********************************************** The City of Spokane Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) Advisory Committee, which is overseeing the redevelopment planning for the Joe E. Mann Army Reserve Center, will hold an open house and public meeting at the center on Wednesday, Jan. 10, to help stimulate ideas for future use of the location. The open house will be held from 5 to 6 p.m., with the public meeting getting under way at 6 p.m. The Mann Center, at 4415 N. Market St. in Spokane, has been declared surplus by the military. The more than five-acre site is located at the “Y” intersection of Haven and Market streets in Hillyard. “We hope that many people take advantage of this opportunity to see the center and to understand the opportunity we have to enhance this neighborhood,” says Ken Watts, chair of the LRA Advisory Committee. The open house and meeting are intended to educate citizens about the potential of the site as well as to generate proposals for redevelopment by interested individuals and organizations, including organizations serving the community, homeless, governmental entities, non-profit, and for-profit corporations. Citizens also will be able to provide written input on what they would like to see developed at the site. Proposals for the site could include uses that enhance economic growth and development, social services, education, arts and culture, etc. Public benefit transfers of the site are a possibility, as are negotiated sales. Proposals are due to the committee by March 9. Proposal instructions will be made available at the Jan. 10 meeting and posted on the City of Spokane’s web site at www.spokanecity.org on Jan. 11. Questions may be directed to the lead City staff member, Dale Strom, Community Development Department, at (509) 625-6321. Because the Mann Center remains a secure military facility, open house and workshop attendees are required to bring a photo ID to enter the facility. Also, bags, backpacks, briefcases, etc. won’t be allowed. Help us advertise the meeting, share this flyer/poster: Mann Hall Flyer
Proposals sought for new uses of Mann Army reserve
center in Hillyard From: http://www.spokanecity.org/services/articles/?ArticleID=1500 The City of Spokane Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) Advisory Committee, which is overseeing the redevelopment planning for the Joe E. Mann Army Reserve Center Hillyard, is seeking proposals for a future use of the site. Proposals, which are called “Notices of Interest” in the property, are due by March 9. The Mann Center, at 4415 N. Market St. in Spokane, has been declared surplus by the military. The more than five-acre site is located at the “Y” intersection of Haven and Market streets in Hillyard. A Notice of Interest application packet that includes instructions for submitting a proposal as well as background information on the Mann Center is attached. Information also is available at www.spokanecity.org. “Our committee is hopeful that a variety of different uses will come forward during this process,” says Ken Watts, chair of the LRA Advisory Committee. “We have a tremendous opportunity to enhance this neighborhood and the City through this process.” Proposals for the site could include uses that enhance economic growth and development, homeless and/or social services, education, arts and culture, etc. Public benefit transfers of the site are a possibility, as are negotiated sales. All individuals are organizations are eligible to make a proposal, including organizations serving the community, homeless service providers, governmental entities, non-profits, and for-profit corporations. Citizens also are encouraged to provide comments on what they would like to see developed at the site. A comment form is attached. Questions may be directed to the lead City staff member, Dale Strom, Community Development, at (509) 625-6321. Notice of Interest (PDF 1 MB) Public comment PDF (PDF 93 KB)
The Private Joe E Mann US Army Reserve Center (From
the SNEDA Newsletter) From: http://sneda.org/sneda/sub.aspx?id=6826 So far in this series: The Private Joe E Mann US Army Reserve Center, located between Market & Haven Streets in Spokane’s Hillyard neighborhood, was identified by DOD and Congress for closure in the 2005 round of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. In this round, several other military installations in Washington were also identified. Mann Hall is the only facility inside the Spokane City limits on the current BRAC list. Mann Hall property includes some seven acres of land in the heart of the business district in Hillyard, astride its two busiest streets. Buildings on the site encompass58, 000 square feet, mostly administrative, storage or meeting spaces. They include classrooms, a kitchen (mess hall variety) and a large meeting hall. The Army unit members are good stewards—the buildings are in very good condition for a site that exceeds fifty years old. In 2006, Hillyard learned of the City’s and County’s decisions to not pursue Mann Hall for community use. A group of citizens offered to form a Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA)--at no cost to citizens--to handle administrative details to convert the facility to public use. Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession blocked this effort by arranging for the City to be designated as LRA instead, and four months later selected a committee of prominent city and community leaders to become the LRA Advisory Committee (LRAAC). In October, the LRAAC members were charged with providing recommendations for a plan to redevelop the Center to its “highest and best use”, following detailed provisions of federal law and regulations. Recommendations for the best plan will be forwarded to the Mayor and City Council, after which they will pass to HUD and then DOD officials for review and final approval. Mann Hall Update Since December, the LRAAC met several times in public session, provided public opportunities to tour Mann Hall and to learn more about the process. The Committee asked all interested individuals, organizations and agencies to submit Notices of Interest(NOIs) by March 9, 2007 that explain in some detail how their various proposals would meet the needs of the community. By early February, the LRAAC noted that NOIs were coming from a large number of interested parties, so on February15th, held a meeting to discuss potential submissions. The purpose was to permit those who wished, to explain their NOIs, and to encourage compatible parties toward partnerships. More than thirty people attended. Among these were most of the organizations with proposed NOIs in the works; not all were presented at the meeting.Representing the Greater Hillyard Business Association (GHBA), I presented one of the concepts. Based on work and interviews with other people and agencies, in the weeks prior to the meeting, I also met with or identified other persons or agencies with plans for Notices of Interest. They include these, but there may be others:
The details of each of these proposals vary greatly, as one would expect. There are several basic differences between the proposals currently offered at the various meetings noted above.
But Wait…There’s More! After March 9th, the LRAAC will evaluate the various proposals, and weight the relative values of each. Their responsibility is to provide a final set of recommendations to the LRA (The City of Spokane) for an overall plan. In order to be submitted, this plan and process must pass a complicated set of requirements mandated by several federal agencies. The LRAAC will try to satisfy all those while coming to a set of suggestions that also represent the “highest and best use” for the facility. They have 270 days to achieve this. The Mayor and City Council will review, and if necessary develop a final version of the plan for submission to the Department of Defense for approval. One indispensable ingredient will be to show that the needs of the homeless populations in the area have been considered in the overall plan. Therefore, the City’s submission will pass through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to guarantee this requirement has been met. After HUD review, the final proposal will go to DOD for a final ruling. J.R. Sloan, Business Consultant
The Private Joe E Mann US Army Reserve Center (From
the SNEDA Newsletter) The Mann Hall Local Redevelopment Authority Advisory Council will be delivering it's recommendation to the Spokane City Council Monday, February 25th at 6pm at City Hall, City Council Chambers. All are encouraged to attend. Agenda: Please note the
information below, stating that the Council has altered the agenda
to allow the Mann Center presentation to begin at around 6:15 PM. It
will be comprehensive in scope, so we have planned a 2 hour time
allocation. All speakers have been asked to make the time
allocations the MAXIMUM taken, and to attempt to deliver their key
points in less time than allocated. But, we wanted to be realistic
in how much time this might take. Here is the scheduled presentation
order and topics (subject to minor change as needed):
The Recommendation: The Mann Hall Local
Redevelopment Authority Advisory Committee (MHLRAAC) met on January
15th to come up with our recommendation for the redevelopment of
Mann Hall. It was clarified at that time, that the Local
Redevelopment Authority (LRA), in this case the City of Spokane,
whom the committee is an advisor to, can only put forth a
recommendation to the Department of Defense (DOD) for the USE of the
facility, not the end USER. In a way this made our jobs easier, as
all of our remaining proposals fell under the Department of
Education (DOEd) public benefit conveyance, though we also had to
look at all potential uses including negotiated sale to the City of
Spokane and/or public sale (which would then put the property on the
tax roles). It turns out, that the DOEd would make the
recommendation as to end user, so all of our proponents will need to
ultimately work with DOEd and the City to manifest their plans. Check back for the full text of the recommendation.
Mann Center Recommendations Considered.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release Date: 3/18/2008 12:00:00 AM Contact Marlene Feist (509) 625-6740 The Spokane City Council has deferred its decision on a recommendation for the redevelopment of the PFC Joe E. Mann Army Reserve Center in Hillyard, which will be vacated in the fall of 2009, until Monday, March 31. A public hearing on the proposal was held on Monday, March 17, during the Council's regular legislative meeting; additional public testimony will be accepted on March 31. The Mann Center, at 4415 N. Market St. in Spokane, was declared surplus by the military. The more than five-acre site is located at the "Y" intersection of Haven and Market streets in Hillyard. A citizen advisory committee, call the Local Redevelopment Authority Advisory Committee (LRAAC) has been working on a recommendation for the site since the fall of 2006, and unanimously approved the recommendation the City Council will consider. The committee's purpose was to bring forward a recommendation for the very best single or multiple reuse of the property, to benefit both the neighborhood and the community as a whole. The committee was required to navigate the complex underlying federal rules established by Congress and the Base Closure & Realignment Commission (BRAC). Attached please find the City Council resolution that will be considered on March 31, a copy of the advisory committee's recommendation, and a presentation the committee made to the City Council in February. If the Council passes the resolution, a development plan will be written and brought back to City Council for final approval later this spring. BRAC
Recommendations |
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| Volume 4, Issue 3 |
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March 2007 |
