Submitted By: Tye Chighizola
presenter
Presentation By: Peter Lee
end
Department: Growth Management
STAFF RECOMMENDATION (Motion Ready):
title
Approve a contract and addendum to purchase six parcels in Downtown Ocala owned by Mt. Moriah Church for a future parking garage in the amount of $1,765,000. Tabled from February 1, 2022, City Council Meeting.
end
OCALA'S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Quality of Place, Economic Hub
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
body
BACKGROUND: After analyzing seven downtown sites for a new parking garage, staff recommends that the City purchases 1.62 acres owned by Mt. Moriah Church that fronts on SW Broadway, SW Second Avenue, SW Third Avenue, and SW Ft. King Street (Parcels: 2853-026-004, 2853-026-003, 2853-026-001, 2853-027-005, 2853-027-002, and 2853-027-001).
The purchase includes all buildings and land owned by the church downtown. Mt. Moriah will be relocating to a larger parcel located on SW Fifth Street east of SW 27th Avenue. The proposed contract allows the church to occupy the property one year after the closing, which will take place on or before March 31, 2022. The proposed addendum changes the closing date to June 1, 2022.
At the February 1, 2022 meeting, City Council tabled the agenda item to allow staff time to schedule public meetings with the downtown property owners and merchants. On February 16, 2022, the City of Ocala held public meetings to provide additional information and obtain feedback about the future location of Parking Garage #2. The City held two public meetings at 15 SE Osceola Ave, IHMC (Institute for Human and Machine Cognition) at 12:30 pm and 5:30 pm. Both sessions were well attended, with approximately 40-50 attendees at the first meeting and 30-40 attendees at the second meeting.
The City Manager and staff presented a PowerPoint presentation that outlined the site selection methodology for selecting the proposed Parking Garage #2 location. After the presentation, questions and fee...
Click here for full text