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SUBJECT: CONTRACT TO EXCHANGE REAL ESTATE WITH 608 STUDIOS LLC <br />DATE: DECEMBER 6, 2016 <br />PAGE 2 OF 6 <br />4) Purchasing the 25 space parking lot from the Blue Parrot Restaurant located <br />at 612 and 624 Main Street for $700,000. <br />Staff continues to research opportunities for additional parking supply in the downtown <br />area through acquisitions, leases, or other mechanisms. <br />Eric Fowles, the owner of Voltage Advertising and 608 Studios, LLC, acquired 608 Main <br />Street in September 2015 with the intent to redevelop the one city lot property into an <br />office building for his company. The redevelopment would involve expanding office <br />square footage on the property by building a two story structure on the existing <br />foundation and expanding the rear of the structure. <br />Economic Development staff had conversations with Eric Fowles in October 2015, and <br />again in summer 2016 (after receiving renewed interest from the Blue Parrot to sell their <br />parking lot), about a potential exchange of real estate to accommodate Voltage <br />Advertising's growth and also achieve additional parking supply for downtown. <br />The recently acquired Blue Parrot parking lot has an inefficient layout as the middle can <br />only accommodate one row of parking stalls. This is because its width is less than 120 <br />feet, the width needed to accommodate a two-way parking lot with head -in stalls. If <br />additional land could be added to the south, it would create a more efficient surface <br />parking layout yielding an additional 10-15 spaces, plus 2 on -street spaces created by <br />removing the access off Main Street. <br />In addition to acquiring and/or creating more surface parking, Economic Development <br />staff has been pursuing a location for a future parking structure that meets the following <br />goals; close to the center of downtown; doesn't require significant demolition of existing <br />structures; is away from a street intersection to minimize visual impact; and creates <br />opportunities to cover or hide the structure with other developments. An east -west <br />oriented structure mid -block in this location meets these goals. <br />Below is an aerial view of this city block under the current ownership: <br />CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION <br />