Title
Discuss the Historic Cotton Mill
Summary
MEETING DATE: August 19, 2013
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
Development Services-Planning
CONTACT: Jason Gray, City Manager
Barry Shelton, Executive Director of Development Services
Kevin Spath, AICP, Assistant Director of Planning
ITEM SUMMARY:
- Staff will provide information to discuss the historic Cotton Mill at 610 Elm Street and the potential for a formal economic development partnership (i.e. agreement) with the private owner/developer of the Cotton Mill to incentivize a substantial phase of site/shell building rehabilitation involving the eastern portion of the main building complex for the purposes of:
- facilitating the incubation, acceleration, retention, and expansion of existing businesses in the Cotton Mill,
- attracting new businesses to the Cotton Mill, and
- further enhancing and leveraging the MEDC's business relationship with the Cotton Mill via the Emerging Technology Program and the Collide Center.
- The private owner/developer (Cotton Mill Partners Ltd) has owned the historic Cotton Mill since 1997 and has made significant improvements over the years to save the existing main building complex from further deterioration. The main building complex contains an approximate total size of 149,000 square feet (and the four outbuildings contain an additional 40,000 square feet).
- Currently, approximately 23% (34,000 square feet) of the main building complex has been rehabilitated for occupancy (office space, studio space, and an event hall). Of the 34,000 square feet of rehabilitated space, 100% is occupied. Approximately 77% (115,000 square feet) of the main building complex remains functionally obsolete in an unrehabilitated condition and is not yet suitable for occupation.
- Staff will explain the current status of the Cotton Mill site/buildings and the various improvements (e.g. parking, electrical service, fire safety, water service) needed to make the functionally obsolete portion of the main building complex suitable for occupation by the growing demand for office space in the unique setting of the Cotton Mill.
- As shared by the City (Town Center Study), the MEDC (McKinney Economic Development Alliance Study), and the private owner/developer, the vision/plan is to preserve, rehabilitate, and adaptively reuse the Cotton Mill as the anchor of an entrepreneurial village--serving as a business development center that fosters a unique, inspiring, and collaborative environment for emerging entrepreneurs, technologists, and other types of creative professionals.
- The TIRZ has the authority under Section 311 and Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code to make loans or grants of TIRZ funds for the purposes of promoting local economic development and stimulating businesses and commercial activity within the TIRZ.
- This project would be an eligible project in the TIRZ Project Plan under the category of Vacant/Underutilized Sites/Buildings, which is defined as Relatively smaller projects (under $5.0 million) for the redevelopment of vacant/underutilized Town Center sites or buildings. Such sites are limited to the area shown as Vacant/Underutilized Building Improvement Area shown on Figure 3 of the TIRZ Project Plan.
- In 2012, to incentivize the site/building improvements at the Cotton Mill needed to facilitate the retention and expansion of Zynga with Friends, a similar Chapter 380 Economic Development and Project Plan Implementation Agreement had been negotiated; however, negotiations stalled in late 2012 when Zynga cancelled their expansion plans.
- Typically, such an agreement would be structured as a conditional economic development grant to the private owner/developer based on the timely completion of the construction of certain site/shell building improvements to be initially funded by the City of McKinney/TIRZ #1 and disbursed to the private owner/developer on a reimbursement basis.
BACKGROUND:
- For a more detailed background summary, please see the attached document entitled The Historic Cotton Mill - A Vision for the Future.