The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutEDA 2011-05-20 Minutes City of North Richland Hills Economic Development Advisory Committee City of North Richland Hills Council Workroom Wednesday, May 20, 2011 MINUTES Board Members Present Mr. Jim Makens, The Makens Company Mr. Randy Moresi, North Hills Hospital Mr. Thomas Hervey, Allen Samuels Dodge Hyundai Ms. Cindy Brewington, Edward Jones Mr. Ben Gayton, Home Depot Mr. Mike Rigby, Liberty Bank Mr. Mark Wood, Howe/Wood & Company Board Members Absent Ms. Janet Golightly, Golightly's Gallery Mr. Mark Sanders, Bates Container Staff Present Mr. Mark Hindman, City Manager, City of NRH Mr. Jared Miller, Assistant City Manager, City of NRH Mr. Craig Hulse, Economic Development Director, City of NRH Ms. Phyl Baloga, Administrative Secretary, City of NRH The Economic Development Advisory Committee was called to order at 11:50 a.m. by President Jim Makens. Minutes from our September 28, 2010 were approved unanimously. President Makens turned the meeting over to Mr. Hulse. Mr. Hulse skipped over introductions since all members are familiar with one another and moved forward with announcements. The trail located at Calloway Creek recently received its new, permanent name. The name for the trail was voted on unanimously by the City's naming committee. They choose to name it the Randy Moresi Trail in honor of his 20+ years of community involvement. There is going to be a trail at Little Bear Creek and John Barfield has accepted the City naming a trail after him. E Mortgage Logic has moved their office from Watauga to North Richland Hills located at 9151 Boulevard 26. They are occupying space in the HealthMarkets building. Golden Corral is in the process of renovation. They have made a commitment to the City to dramatically improve their property and invest in new kitchen equipment. Bennigans has recently been acquired by Sushi Axiom. They are planning a complete renovation on the interior and exterior. 1 Quick Trip has purchased the former Roomstore and IHop on Boulevard 26. This new 5,000 square foot building is about 1,000 sf larger than current locations and will have three points of entry in case the market should change directions in the future. More concrete has been laid on the north side of North Tarrant Parkway. There are three lanes in each direction with a landscaped median, six foot sidewalks, benches, trash receptacles and similar lightening and signalization. The rains have delayed some work days but the Parkway is still expected to be complete by September of this year. Economic Updates o Last year all charts seemed to show nothing but negative figures. In 2010 commercial real estate appears to have bottomed out. This year TAD released the preliminary appraised market value prior to protest as being -1.4 and last year was -2.3 %. Tarrant County is -1.6% for 2011 and was a -2.5% in 2010. This is a good indicator that the recession is slowly getting behind us. The chart that you see is a mix of commercial and residential. NRH tax base percentage is 2/3 residential with approximately 1/3 commercial and just a couple of percentage points industrial. o In looking over permits for the last six years it's obvious that 2006 was the best year for new single family residential. Currently residential appears to be stabilizing. Craig asked Mark Wood how sales of his residential lots in Graham Ranch have been and he replied "closing May 1 St this year they sold 51 homes as opposed to 5 the same time last year," which reiterates the fact that North Richland Hills is faring well compared to other cities. Project Updates o HomeTown - -- The City and Developers of HomeTown, after many negotiations, have agreed on the land use for the undeveloped area remaining in HomeTown. A major concern was the number of multi - family units. The City obtained a lot of feedback from HomeTown residents and feel comfortable with the end result of land use. Total residential could have up to 2,313 units, single family with detached units could be 580, single family attached units could be up to 398 units and multi - family could be up to 1,337. The City's next challenge is to work along with TCC College to get moving on getting the TCC Performing Arts Center built. There is eight million dollars set aside specifically for this building however the center alone could cost up to $22 million. o NRH Centre - -- The new recreation center will be called the NRH Centre and will be developed by March of next year. This will be a quality project and the requirements of the deed restrictions will be met. The building will be 86,000 square feet with lots of natural light brought in. The NRH Centre consists of a gym, senior center, a ballroom which can hold up to 300 people or broken down into smaller meeting rooms, an indoor running track, fitness area, and a 2 natatorium. Jared believes the natatorium is more like a recreational water space. In this recreational water space there will be a climbing wall which is unique along with a rehab space. This center will be open to residents and also non - residents. The City is making a three tier pay program, one for residents, one for our NRH business residents and also non - residents. o North Tarrant Express-- - the City has assembled the NRH Mobility Team which is vital to communicate with businesses. This team is made up of 15 businesses along the Loop 820 Corridor and does include Tony Pack, who is the chair of this committee. Year 2012 will be the year of construction for NRH. In this current year, Bluebonnet is concentrating on the first segment which will be from Beach to Denton Highway. Once again, in 2012 what will impact us the most is the Iron Horse Bridge because it will be closed for six months. Bluebonnet has committed to make signs regarding detours and closures. For those people going to the church they will be using Meadowlakes Boulevard to get to and from the Church and travel eastbound on the access road to exit. The City has been working diligently with Bluebonnet to make this situation less stressful. The Rufe Snow bridge will probably only take one week to construct due to the fact that the bridge is in two different segments. They will lift each segment and move the center bent to the new center which should only take one week for both sides. The NTE Mobility Partners can offer suggestions regarding alternative driving options if there are road closures and traffic updates. Just go to; www.NorthTarrantExpress.com o Calloway Creek Commercial Area - - - The City has received a preliminary revised site plan from Deborah Gagliardi and the Kest Family. Mark, Jared and Craig have met with Deborah and believe hiring Gideon Toal, out of Fort Worth, will assist the City in facilitating the development of Calloway Creek Commercial area. Gideon Toal was extremely helpful in our dealings with Hometown. Regarding the site plan it shows hospitality, commercial, retail, and office. The City is encouraged but does want a professional review. BIG Program Update o Zonga's Mediterranean Restaurant is in mid construction and is located at t 7655 Boulevard 26. Olive Garden located on Bedford - Euless Road is going through a major renovation on the inside and outside with a new Tuscan theme. A portion of a former gas station located at Harmonson and Rufe Snow is undergoing a major renovation to be turned into Black Diamond BBQ. Their actual address is 3900 Rufe Snow Drive. The owner, Jon Durham currently sells his barbeque at TCU games. Lastly, It's Your Floor located at 8101 Boulevard 26 have agreed to have their sign removed. Jim Makens adjourned the meeting at 1:12 p.m. 3