Council member Joe Balsanek continues to voice his concerns at the ever-expanding timeline of the property once home to the Hudson Sprayer Company and known now as the Great River Landing. Confluence Development was given a December 15, 2019 completion date for the renovation of the former Hudson Sprayer building as the city turned over ownership in early January. Balsanek has been consistant in his stance as the project has been put together over the course of nearly 5 years with a combination of city, state and other public monies outlayed with, as of yet, little evidence that the promised retail, convention, lodging and residential destination is on the horizon.
He also points to the copious amount of city staff time already invested in securing grants, utilizing HEDRA resources and other allowances that have resulted in missed deadlines that are hallmarks of this project which assured city leadership was being delayed by regulations or stipulations from 3rd parties such as SHPPO, who reportedly signed off on critical historic requirements sometime last year. The current status, according to the city, reflects a status of no finalized building permits submitted despite being part of the negotiated process for getting the property back on the tax roles in 2019 as intended.
In an update provided at the May 9th joint session of HEDRA and the Hastings City Council, Community Development Director Hinzman introduced the item for discussion which included a history of the project, schedule, and financial implications. According to the minutes of that meeting, the Purchase and Development Agreement requires substantial completion of the entire project by December 15, 2019 however, it does not appear likely that Confluence could achieve substantial completion by that date.
Hinzman notes that $1.6 million in existing grant funds for development of the park and building environmental work must be spent by December 31, 2019. Confluence Development representatives Pat Regan and Mike Mattingly provided details on project history and current status. They refer to submittal of building plans in November, 2018 which have again been revised to reduce project cost that would better align with available financing. Mattingly stated that significant cost savings have been eliminated while maintaining the uses that were identified in the project approvals.
Regan also submitted their preliminary construction schedule reflecting a timeline for completion of the parking ramp and for park development and rehabilitation of the Hudson building. The parking ramp should be completed by June 7, 2019. Confluence maintains that work on grant related items including the park and building environmentals would begin July 8, 2019 and believes that grant funded work will be completed to allow for full use of grant funds. An amended timeline for the remainder of the construction would then be extended be complete by November 20, 2020.
Confluence also announced the hiring of Rob Barse as a project manager to provide increased oversight in managing this tight construction schedule. Barse is also Vice Chair of the Hastings Planning Commission, whose two-year term expires at the end of 2019. According to protocol, should the topic be discussed by the Commission, Barse would be required to recuse himself to remain impartial.
The Council and HEDRA Commissioners then discussed the implications of not completing work to allow for full use of grant funding, the ability of Confluence to begin work prior to closing of a construction loan, timing of the agreements versus starting the project, and future consideration of an amendment to the Purchase and Development Agreement to extend the substantial completion date. The arrangement at the time of the city’s relinquishment, was that the cost of a soil vapor barrier, necessary for habitation of the property, will be charged to the city, but has not been installed. The status of the agreement for a formalized continuence has not yet been announced.
