Business Retention and Development Committee Agenda and Packet 2014 10 06

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Business Retention & Development Committee Meeting Minutes September 17, 2014 Page 3 of 5 The City should take Chili's closing as a signal. People need closer proximity for the live /work /play /shop lifestyle. What is happening in reality is mobility solutions will respond to the psychographic shift, ie: alternatives like Car2go, a short -term car rental program. Business retention and attraction are key. Static models always say the cost of residential is a financial drain. But you can't calculate what you have missed out on. What challenges are you seeing with new developments on the remaining vacant parcels? Rent from the office perspective. Centennial Valley is 99% office. Rent is not where it needs to be to build. Construction costs are high and rents need to escalate. There is a labor problem and all construction costs are inflating across the board. Broadening of uses in Centennial Valley would help. Streamline the process in Planning. The Louisville Planning and Building Safety Department is to be commended for being able to get things done. The uses are too narrow. They would like to see wholesale. Tenants don't want to go through zoning and be told no at the 11th hour; it is too much time and money. No metro district makes rents affordable. There is a glut of office space; this glut would still be there if commercial uses broadened. Boulder has a mystique — people want to be in Boulder. People are taking "C level" space in Boulder. Now people want to be in Louisville. Loading docks are imperative for distribution, not necessary for office buildings. Building can be retrofitted in Centennial Valley but you need to have everything around it already in place. What specifications would you put in the City's plans for the area to improve retail activity in the area? And what would improve commercial activity in the area? Retailers will beat down your door if they can achieve volumes. Normal retail access desires 2 right turns, signage, and visibility. Businesses have more choices now. Signs, banners would help Commercial — broaden uses. 39 yr old zoning is stale. Remove height restrictions. Infrastructure could handle it. What are your thoughts on how the City can capitalize on the expanded US 36 Infrastructure (larger road, Bus Rapid Transit, better bridge)?