At this week’s Council meeting, the City Council approved the Joint Development Agreement, Parking Agreement, and the Condominium Documents between the City of College Park and the University of Maryland concerning the City Hall Project. The Joint Development Agreement and Parking Agreement contain the terms necessary for pre-development requirements and construction. The Condominium Documents include the Declaration of Condominium, Condominium Plat, and the By-Laws, and set out how the property will be owned and maintained. Specifically, we will review (a) contributions made by the parties and how the “Initial University Contribution” (“true-up”) and parking payment from the University was determined; (b) the ownership structure once the project is complete; building and plaza costs and each party’s proportional share; and use of the municipal parking garage.
The key joint development agreements include: (a) The UMD will purchase the City property to reduce the City bonding and reflect the use of the redeveloped site. The title of the land will remain with the City. (b) a condominium regime will define the ownership structure with separate components for City / UMD structure and land. (c) The cost of exclusive space plus common area costs is split based on the overall use of the building. (d) The City and the UMD will share 50/50 costs of the plaza, with maintenance provided by the City. (e) All parking will be accommodated in the City garage.
The City cost of this project is approximately $19.6 million. The City will use $12.5 million using the money it borrowed in the fall of 2019 through a bond sale. The City has received approximately $850,000 in State grants, utilized General Fund savings, and will receive funds from the University of Maryland for the land contribution “true-up” ($2.3 million) and use of the municipal parking garage ($0.63 million). Approval of the Joint Development Agreement and Parking Easement provides the legal path for the University of Maryland to pay the City the costs associated with the land “true-up” and for its use of the municipal parking garage, totaling approximately $3M. The City will also use $3.1 million from its reserves.
The $2.33 million credit the City will be getting is due to the fact that the City is contributing more (68% – 32%) lands to the joint development, whereas the UMD will be using more spaces (64% – 36%) in the building (the net ratio is 55%-45% including the shared plaza space). The $0.63 million on parking the UMD will be paying accounts for their staff using 124 parking spaces for $90/space/month over 5 years. This is the payment they are paying to help reduce our initial project cost.
You can read more information about the vote on the agreement here on the Diamondback’s website.