Allan Appel Photo
When it comes to marketing downtown land to potential builders, the city won’t let the tail wag the dog.
Instead — when it comes to remarketing the old Coliseum site and the 10 Wall St. lot—officials may first seek broad zoning changes before trying to sell the land.
That way, developers could build combinations of homes and offices or stores (aka “mixed-use” projects) without first having to seek zoning changes.
That strategy emerged from a presentation Tuesday morning at the city’s monthly Development Commission meeting. Deputy Economic Development Director Tony Bialecki made the presentation.
Right now 10 Wall St. and the old Coliseum site are used for surface parking. The city would like to see mixed-use projects built there.
Right now those two properties sit in so-called “BD” or general business zones.
The city would like to see those properties’ zoning changed to “BD‑1,” a special designation for areas in and around downtown where the city wants to see denser development — allowing for more apartments and stores and offices to be built on a plot of land. The city has been in the process of getting rules for BD‑1 zones changed, as well, to allow for denser building. That process has sparked controversy as the changes progress through the approval process. Click here and here to read about that.
Commissioners Pedro Soto, Sarah Eidelson, and Chris Laconte listen to Bialecki.
Bialecki told commissioners Tuesday that the planned shift in strategy toward a more general change in zoning has been percolating for a long time, and the ongoing BD‑1 debate “brought the discussion to a point.”
His pitch received support from Development Commission Vice-Chairman Pedro Soto.
“We can’t build the buildings we want to build [downtown] without variances. To require variances for what the city wants to be built [without making such changes] from a marketability standpoint, we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot,” Soto said.
In an email following the meeting, Bialecki (pictured) clarified that city staffers are still discussing best options and practices for the BD and BD‑1 zones.
He said that while wider change is on the table, “there is no immediate urgency to deal with the BD zones other than it is better to discuss and legislate changes without having a specific project at bay. So we don’t mix what is good planning practice with people’s likes or dislikes of any one project.”
Great to see this site has not been forgotten. It is an important site with enormous potential to further enliven and engage the thriving 9th square district. I applaud the pre-bid zoning change to encourage smart growth with smart policies.