Town of Reading Strategic Economic Development Action Plan

Project Kickoff Meeting September 23, 2014

Agenda

3:00 – 3:10 pm: Welcome and Introductions

3:10 – 3:50 pm: Overview of Project Scope and Q&A

3:50 – 4:20 pm: Priority Development Areas Discussion

4:20 – 4:25 pm : Data Collection Next Steps

4:25 – 4:30 pm: Next Steps and Future Meetings (December/January, March/April)

Project Goal

Produce a Strategic Economic Development Action Plan for the Town, which will include a focus on how the four regional PDAs can be built out to support local and regional housing and economic development goals

• Reading_1: Reading Downtown 40R District – Potential Expansion

• Reading_2: South Main Street

• Reading_3: New Crossing Road Redevelopment District

• Reading_4: 1 General Way

Priority Development Areas Site Site Name and Description Acres Development Types 1 Reading Downtown 40R District - Potential Expansion:

The Town would like to expand the 40R zoning to the remainder of the downown. This area Is highly suitable for mixed-use infill that would include housing and commercial medical/office uses.

9.6 Mixed-use: Infill

2 South Main Street: The Town wishes to change zoning to enable mixed use in this 26-acre area and to include streetscape and road reconfigurations to enhance the street for pedestrians and bicyclists. This area is suitable for multifamily housing development.

26.5 Multifamily

3 New Crossing Road Redevelopment District: This 4-acre area, behind Reading Municipal Light District, is characterized as misused and underutilized and includes vacant lots, derelict buildings and sites with industrial uses. The area is currently zoned for industrial use, and the town is interested in pursuing a change in zoning. A historic structure (an old power plant) could potentially be a site for a future community facility. Consistent with the town's interest in changing uses in this area, the area is highly suitable for mixed use, master planned development including medical/office, retail, entertainment, and hospitality uses, and multifamily housing.

4 Mixed Use Master Planned

4 1 General Way This 20-acre area is identified as being suitable for more commercial development. This site could be suitable for medical/office development.

20.4 Commercial: Medical/Office

Scope and Deliverables

• Market analysis identifying potential for housing, retail, office, and mixed use at the regional PDAs

• Alternative development scenarios analysis for each regional PDA that will estimate potential additional dwelling units, square feet of commercial floor area, etc.

• Action Plan for the four regional PDAs that identifies potential suitable development types, data emerging from the two analyses, and policy and planning recommendations to facilitate the redevelopment of the regional PDAs

• CD and hardbound copies of the Action Plan

Process to Develop the Plan

Three meetings with Town staff and Committee members

• Project kick-off and preliminary discussion about scope of work and regional PDAs (today)

• Project deliverables check-in (December/January)

• Prep for the second public meeting and discuss the draft project deliverables (March/April)

Process to Develop the Plan

Visioning process (two public meetings)

• Meeting #1: dialogue about preliminary findings from the market analysis.

• Meeting #2: Briefing of market analysis and alternative development scenarios analysis findings; discuss potential mixes of development that can be accommodated at each site

Final Plan delivered by June 2015

Reading Market Analysis: Overview September 23, 2014

If you build it, they will may not come.

• Many communities seek economic growth to improve fiscal health of the municipality. – Market may or may not support desired types

• Market analysis provides perspective so that more specific, targeted, achievable recommendations can be developed based on real market trends of what is supportable.

• Market analysis does not predict future development/growth, it provides a snapshot of what may be possible at a point in time.

What is a Market Analysis?

• A market analysis combines quantitative and qualitative data/info to identify the type and amount of development that can be supported by the market. – Commercial (Retail and Office), Industrial, Residential,

Mixed-use

• Based on local, regional and national conditions and trends: – Socioeconomic conditions – Employment and wage trends – Development trends – Locational advantages/disadvantages

How can a market analysis help you?

Example: Downtown Reading 40R • Market analysis estimates the demand for the

following: – Number/type/mix of residential units – Retail sector opportunities / development (sf) – Type/amount of office space

• Market analysis then informs: – Zoning needed to accommodate the growth – Strategies to attract right retail/industry sectors

Reading Market Analysis

Approach – Town wide market analysis

• Residential • Retail • Office

– Identify development potential by type for site • Do findings align with development types identified for each

site? – Estimate supportable development by type

• Number of units/square footage • Number of retail establishments/square footage • Office square footage

Approach: Residential Analysis

• Housing research similar to that done for Housing Production Plans – Population and Household trends

• Existing and projected • Household composition

– Existing housing stock • Type of units • Price points • Vacancy rates • Sales activity

Residential Analysis

• Residential Development Trends – Recent development

• Unit types • What has or hasn’t been successful? • Price points? • Buyers and Renters: Who’s moving in?

– Proposed Development • Does it meet current or future demand?

– Potential Development • What is missing? What needs more.

Retail: Establish Trade Area

• Establish Trade Area: Depends on site – 5-minute drive time: Downtown

• Walk or short drive

– 10-minute drive time: Local Center • Short drive, local competition

– 15-minute drive time: Regional Center • Impacted more by competing regional retail clusters

Retail: Gap Analysis

Office Market Analysis: Research

• Existing Office Space – Total (occupied and vacant space)

• Low vacancy may indicate need for additional space – Rents (psf)

• Office Trends – Net absorption rates – Lease trends (up or down) – Planned or proposed development

• Local and Regional employment trends – Existing and future “Office Inclined” (information, financial services, real

estate, health care services, etc.) • Interviews

– Property owners/managers, brokers, business owners • Sources

– Assessors Data – Commercial real estate companies – EOLWD

What we need…

Interviews: – Brokers – residential and commercial

– Residential/Mixed-use property managers (larger projects)

– Existing retail and services owners

– Opportunity site property owners

– Town officials – Town Planner, Manager

Recent Market Studies

• Needham Street in Newton – Residential: Up to 450 - 500 units – Retail: 60,000 – 100,000sf – Office: 350,000 sf

• Town of Scituate Market Analysis – Retail: 80,000 sf – Accommodations: 30,000 sf – Office: Less than 10,000sf – Residential: 700 units (mostly multi-family)

• Downtown Gloucester – Residential: 250-530 multi-family units – Retail: 60,000sf – Office: 15,000sf flex office/retail/artist

Alternative Development Scenarios Analysis: Overview

September 23, 2014

Approach

• Scenarios modeling approach that uses a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis/modeling tool called CommunityViz to generates a wealth of information about the development potential of sites

• Allows for the application of attributes related to existing developments (e.g., dwelling units per acre, commercial square footage as % of total development, etc.) to other parcels for modeling purposes

Approach

To undertake the analysis, we will work with the Town to identify developments in Reading and elsewhere in the region that are exemplary of the density and mix of uses we’d like to see at the regional PDAs

Once the model development types are identified, the characteristics can be applied to the PDAs to generate values on commercial, residential, and a host of detail

Approach

Data on developments is collected from assessor’s data, development websites, Zillow, and other sources

Data generated includes:

– potential additional dwelling units

– potential additional commercial square footage

– potential changes in parcel value

– potential additional tax revenue, and

– a host of other data that could be valuable for planning and marketing purposes

Next Steps

• Contact information for brokers, property managers, business owners

• Scheduling interviews with Town staff

• Reports, studies, and data to reference

• Scheduling upcoming check-in meetings (December/January, March/April)

• Selecting dates for public meetings