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Editorial

City, developers must work to salvage Landing

Forget the old adage that actions speak louder than words.

New Port Richey's downtown redevelopment moved backward from activity to the talking stages. And that's a good thing.

The City Council reversed an earlier 3-2 vote and decided Monday evening to begin development agreement negotiations with Peter Altman and Ken McGurn, the developers of the stalled Main Street Landing town home and retail project at the southwest junction of Main Street and the Pithlachascotee River.

Deputy Mayor Matthew McCaffery switched his prior stance and correctly voted with Mayor Dan Tipton and council member Virginia Miller to instruct the city staff to work with the developers to restart construction while protecting the city from financial liabilities.

The nuts and bolts are to be worked out, but Altman and McGurn filed an application for a 10-acre taxing district, known as a Community Development District (CDD) in which future property tax payments will be used to offset up-front costs for parking, sidewalks, drainage and landscaping. Altman previously said the project would share any profits with the city and Wednesday he said the property across the street from Main Street Landing, upon which sits the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce building, will be excluded from the initial CDD because of council concerns.

As stated here previously, seeking an additional assessment from the property owners within the district is not unreasonable.

The flap over a $15,000 application fee should be a non-issue. Both sides want the project to succeed and the city will be reimbursed for staff time in reviewing the application.

Initial consternation is understandable, but long-range benefits to the city could be substantial. The city loses the ability to use all of Main Street Landing's future property tax payments for other redevelopment projects, but the developers anticipate an annual 18 percent increase in payments to the city on top of the debt service. Over the life of a 23-year agreement, that could mean a minimum of $2.85-million to city coffers and potentially as much as $6.4-million. A 150-space downtown parking lot would become available for public use and the city would take back a $1.25-million incentive grant previously committed to the developers. That money could be used immediately for other redevelopment efforts.

McGurn shut down last month after the initial city vote. The developers sought city assistance with the CDD because rising construction costs and other delays had pushed the price of the project from $30-million to $45-million.

The terms are subject to negotiation and there is no guarantee the project will move forward any time soon. Still, the city and developers should work together. Main Street Landing is the first substantial private sector investment in downtown New Port Richey following multimillion-dollar spending by the city. An abandoned waterfront construction site is hardly the gateway to a vibrant downtown.

[Last modified July 20, 2006, 07:15:13]