[Consultantservices] [Consultant Services] RFP posted Thursday, March 22, 2007, 9:47 a.m.

[Grace Williams]

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Request for Proposals - Consultant Services

Environmental Impact Report
The City of Downey, California
Submittal Deadline: March 30, 2007 

INTRODUCTION

Invitation to Bid
The City of Downey (the "City") is seeking the environmental consultant
services of an individual or firm for the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Report ("EIR") in accordance with the California
Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") for the Downey Studios Mixed-Use
Development Project (the "Project") as described herein.

Correspondence and Questions
In order to obtain a full copy of this Request for Proposal, which
includes all requirements, please email John Godlewski, City Planner, at
jgodlewski at downeyca.org <mailto:jgodlewski at downeyca.org>  or call
562-904-7154.

All correspondence including proposals should be submitted to:

City of Downey
Planning Division
Attn: John Godlewski, City Planner
11111 Brookshire Avenue
Downey, CA 90241

If additional information or clarification is needed regarding this RFP,
please feel free to contact John Godlewski, City Planner at
562-904-7157.

Proposal Submittal Deadline and Review Timeline
To be accepted for consideration, proposals must be received by Friday,
March 30, 2007 at 4:00 p.m.  Postmarks will not be accepted in lieu of
actual receipt.  Late proposals may not be opened and incomplete
proposals may not be considered.  Hand deliver or send proposals to John
Godlewski at the address listed above.

BACKGROUND AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Background
The Project site is located in the City of Downey on the former National
Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA") industrial plant site
("NASA site").  The Project site had been in continuous industrial use
since construction of the initial manufacturing facilities in 1929 and
for 70 years was the creative center of more major space programs than
any other site in the nation.  The NASA site spans 160 acres commonly
known as Downey Landing, bordered Lakewood Boulevard, Stewart & Gray
Road, Bellflower Boulevard and Imperial Highway.  In 1998, the NASA site
shut down and left in its place a large section of unused land in a
prime location of the City.  Recognizing the retiring of the site for
industrial uses as a significant opportunity to try to make the highest
and best use of this land, the City initiated negotiations with NASA for
the conveyance of this land.  Today, most of the NASA site has been
transferred to the City.

To take advantage of the unique reuse opportunities offered by the NASA
site, the City created a specific plan, the Downey Landing Specific Plan
(the "Specific Plan"), to guide the development of the property,
allowing for a mix of uses including commercial, media, business,
medical, technical and open space.  The City has begun to realize some
of the economic benefits of developing this site with the construction
of the 34-acre Downey Landing Retail Center and the approximately
80-acre Downey Studios (the "Studios").  A 30-acre Kaiser Permanente
hospital and medical office complex will be completed by mid-2009.
Portions of the NASA site remain undeveloped, including a 13-acre parcel
designated for the future development of a public park.

The Project site itself covers approximately 80 acres of the NASA
property, comprised primarily of the Studios - a media facility
consisting of industrial buildings and surface parking.  The Media
Center is made up of eight buildings, used as film and media stages and
seven small buildings used as production facilities.  The Specific Plan
conceived of the Studios as an adaptive reuse project that would provide
the film industry with a cost effective alternative to runaway
production, attracting the film industry, associated economic benefits
and well-paying industrial jobs to the City.

Unfortunately, the vision for the facility never fully came to fruition
and thus the owner of most of the Property (and ground lessee of the
balance) Industrial Realty Group has proposed the Project to the City in
the hopes of redeveloping the underperforming site to a more productive
and efficient use, more capable of conferring the envisioned benefits to
the City.

Project Description
The project proponent proposes to develop a mixed-use project including
residential, office, hotel, cinema, restaurant and retail uses as
follows:

*	551,000 square feet of retail use; 
*	85,000 square feet of restaurant use; 
*	385,000 square feet of anchor retail and restaurant uses; 
*	65,000 square feet for cinema use; 
*	480,000 square feet of office uses; 
*	250,000 square feet for hotel uses; and 
*	1,703,000 square feet (approximately 1,200 to 1,510 units) of
residential use. 

Therefore, the above Project components in the aggregate result in a
total gross building area of 3,519,000 square feet on a total site area
of 3,342,326 square feet.  The Project is proposed to include 2,755
parking spaces for retail; 680 parking spaces for restaurant uses; 1,925
spaces for anchor retail uses; 813 spaces for cinema; 2,300 spaces for
offices; 275 spaces for the hotel and 2,639 spaces for the residential
units for a total of 9,455 parking spaces.  According to the Project
Overview Chart, the proposed total floor area ration for the Project is
just over 1.0:1.  The Applicant in consultation with the City may hire a
technical expert to prepare a shared traffic analysis that considers the
parking demands for the Project and potential traffic impacts.

 

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