Development of Catalytic Opportunity Site (Lot #5) Downtown Ocala

ITN# GRM/260862 Development of Catalytic Opportunity Site (Lot #5) Downtown Ocala
Scope of Work:
1.1. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW
The City of Ocala (“City”), through this Invitation to Negotiate (“ITN”), seeks proposals from interested and qualified developers, builders, partnerships and/or agencies interested in constructing a mixed-use development on this parcel to include any combination of the following preferred mixed uses: residential (required), retail, restaurant, office, or cultural.
The property is located in the Downtown Community Redevelopment Area (CRA), per the Midtown Master Plan (2017) attached hereto as Exhibit A, the subject site has high catalytic impact potential and is advantageously situated within close proximity to a number of both downtown and midtown amenities and employment centers including the Downtown Square and future hotel, the Osceola Trak, and the Marion County Courts Complex. Foundationally, the Plan provides proposers with existing condition information, Midtown’s missions and goals, land use and development concepts, supporting strategies to further improve Midtown and a priority listing of implementation steps for the city and its partners to follow in order to fully reach the results this Plan now envisions. While the selected proposers and property owners work to implement those portions of the Plan that fulfill their development goals, the city will earnestly and methodically work to implement the mobility and connectivity enhancements needed to support many of the other development strategies in the Plan.
Plans and Studies
The development opportunity attempts to provide insights and guidance for proposers and architects in the hopes of receiving proposals that offer practical solutions, ideas and development that follow key mixed-use design principles. The City has commissioned a variety of studies that examined the desired and potential development for properties in the Midtown and Downtown as a whole. Proposers are encouraged to review the exhibits that are provided with this development opportunity for the 2004 Downtown Ocala Master Plan (Exhibit J), 2017 Midtown Ocala Master Plan (Exhibit A), the 2024 Urban 3 Analysis – Economics of Community Design (Exhibit L) and the Ocala 2050 Vision Plan (Exhibit K). The Midtown Master Plan and the Ocala 2050 Vision Plan offer insights of the desired level of development intensity and uses that have been previously supported by City Council and the community. The 2013 Gibbs Downtown Retail Study offers analysis and insight of the retail challenges and opportunities present in our downtown along with quantified estimates of the types and amounts of new mixed-use development that appear economically supportable. The 2024 Urban 3 Analysis provides a thorough analysis of the fiscal impacts of development City-wide and within Community Redevelopment Areas. Proposers should carefully consider the current validity of the previous forecasts and the recommendations and conclusions provided in those documents. While City Council is not bound to the historical recommendations contained in any of these previous studies, much of the information remains valuable and relative to today’s market.
Catalytic Development Site
This 1.15-acre city-owned property abuts NE 2nd Street to the north, NE 1st Street to the south, NE 1st Avenue to the east, and the historic seven-story Marion Sovereign Building to the west across N. Magnolia Avenue. The property is currently used as a surface parking lot with no buildings. Historically, this was the site of the City’s main post office and was a primary generator of activity for most surrounding development. The site is zoned Form Based Code (FBC) with a designated land use of High Intensity/Central Core.
If allowable, the inclusion of an appropriately scaled green space element is preferred. As indicated above, although this parcel is in a parking exempt zone, proposers of the site should consider structured onsite or surface parking as part of their proposal, in accordance with City of Ocala Form-Based Code Section 122-963 (Parking). Development of this site will displace much current parking use and create additional pressure for even more parking. Proposers are encouraged to propose innovative concepts that address parking onsite or incorporate areas outside of the site such as parking spaces, rights-of-way, other properties, etc., or a combination of both, in their proposals. As a mixed-use product, proposers should carefully consider how the development will contribute and increase connection and associated draw to and from the evolving nearby downtown core, nearby geographical areas and many public improvements that border Midtown in all directions. Proposers should carefully consider how the development will contribute to a vibrant street life and a pedestrian oriented public realm with a variety of amenities. Each building should be aesthetically attractive and provide an accessible, safe environment