Division Corridor Strategy Final Report Division-Corridor-Strategy-Final-Report | Page 69

Opportunity B- Residen al Lo s
Summary
Opportunity B includes quality, market-rate urban
lo s developed on the full block bounded by
Mesquite Street, Division Street, Elm Street, and a
relocated Front Street. Urban lo buildings would
be developed near the street to form “stree t
block closure”. The surrounding streets would be
improved as urban streetscapes, similar to Opportu-
nity A. Non-residen al ameni es and some ground-
level neighborhood retail space would front Division
Street in a storefront se ng, including poten al for
small convenience/grocery and offi ce space.
Opportunity D
Opportunity B
Poten al Program Es mate
166 units, 3,200 square feet of resident club/offi ce
space, 5,200 square feet of service retail
Implementa on Notes
56
Project es mated to be $16.7M including land
assembly. Urban streetscape would be part of the
private landscaping cost, though a relocated Front
Street ($440k+/- across both Opportuni es B and E)
would be a public cost and City-owned right-of-way
would be donated to the project eff ort. This refl ects
a 1:36 ra o of public dollars invested to gain private
investment dollars assuming right-of-way dona on
valued at $5 per square foot. For this project to be
implemented, the property owners would agree
to sell at pricing that is supportable by the project,
the two small auto dealerships that currently exist
on this block would agree to be relocated as part of
Opportunity C, the Farmer’s Market would become
part of the redevelopment itself, and the City would
need to allow such development to occur and be
willing to relocate Front Street south to the railroad
tracks into an improved urban mews street condi-
on. Financing would be brought through private
investment, but as there are not proper comparable
projects to assist conven onal underwri ng, the
private investment group may need to take advan-
tage of high loan-to-value ra os off ered by special-
ized mortgage insurance programs. The commercial,
job-crea ng por on of the program may be fi nanced
through New Markets Tax Credits and/or the
CDBG Sec on 108 loan program. Addi onally, it is
suggested that the City u lize the TIRZ to fund the
Division Street Corridor Strategy
City of Arlington
Figure 4.3 Opportunity B and D Locations
Opportunity B character image
Photo Credit: David Whitcomb
reloca on of Front Street through generated tax
increment, as well as to fund business reloca on if
allowable. It is necessary to underscore the impor-
tance of the City’s acceptance of required zoning and
understanding of poten al non-tradi onal fi nance
strategies to ini ate such mixed-use development
in the Division Street Corridor and Downtown area
itself. Please see Table 4.2 for addi onal Opportu-
nity B catalyst project fi nancial analysis.