Explanation
BACKGROUND: The City owns or owned Franklin County Tax ID Parcel Nos. 010-054645 (the “NMDA Parcel”) and 010-307276 (as such parcel may have been split, the “Project Site”). North Market Development Authority, Inc. (“NMDA”) leases and operates a public market in a former warehouse (the “North Market”) on the NMDA Parcel. The City selected NM Developer LLC (the “Developer”) from a request for proposals to redevelop the Project Site with a 32-story mixed-use project. Pursuant to Ordinance No. 2135-2023 passed by City Council on July 24, 2023, the City entered into the First Amended and Restated Economic Development Agreement dated August 29, 2023 (the “Restated EDA”) with the NMDA and the Developer. Pursuant to the Restated EDA, the new development on the Project Site will include public parking spaces, an expansion of the North Market, a public atrium, patio, and plaza in support of the North Market, and other public improvements and site work described in the Restated EDA (collectively, the “Public Project”). The Restated EDA also requires the City to design and construct at a cost of up to $5 million certain streetscape improvements on Vine Street, Wall Street, and Spruce Street surrounding the NMDA Parcel and the Project Site (the “Streetscape Improvements”).
Due to long lead times for certain Streetscape Improvements materials and related services identified by the City and Developer during design (the “Preordered Items”), the Public Project schedule requires the preorder of the Preordered Items prior to the bidding of the Streetscape Improvements construction, and the Developer is willing to arrange for the purchase of such Preordered Items provided that the costs thereof are promptly reimbursed by the City. Ordinance No. 2135-2023 also authorized the City to enter into that certain Cooperative Agreement dated August 29, 2023 (the “Cooperative Agreement”) with the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority to provide a portion of the financing ...
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