Site Benefits and
Development Incentives
Beaverton Central Plant
The City of Beaverton central heating and cooling plant—the Beaverton Central Plant (“BCP”)—located at The Round will provide HVAC heating water and chilled water to Westgate Buildings, under the terms of a service agreement. BCP services will benefit the Westgate developer by offsetting three to four dollars per square foot of building costs otherwise required to install heating and cooling capacity for the new buildings. Also, space will not be required for boilers, chillers, and cooling towers at the new buildings, freeing these areas within the buildings and on rooftops for other uses.
The BCP has been designed to provide heating and cooling services at reduced expense than would otherwise be required. The two key elements of the BCP system are a sophisticated controls network and a high efficiency central plant.
The system maintains air flow to commercial tenants 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, without increased expense. In addition, ventilation is constantly monitored for key indicators to assure a safe, clean, adequate supply to all commercial spaces.
Pro-active maintenance is possible through the use of “smart” equipment and a sophisticated network. This means that the BCP operator will probably know of a potential problem before the tenant is aware of any issues. The operator can then correct the problem over the controls network, or dispatch a technician to make adjustments.
Transportation
The site offers frontage along SW Cedar Hills Boulevard to the west as well as extensive exposure from the light rail line bordering the southern edge of the site. The Beaverton Central MAX light rail station is conveniently located for Westgate pedestrian access—the station is at the center of The Round, a mixed use development immediately to the east of the site. The Beaverton Transit Center, located to the east, will be the terminus of a new commuter rail service that will open in September 2008.
Parking
The City has launched a parking initiative, and is moving forward to implement recommendations from a recent study, Beaverton Downtown Parking Solutions (Rick Williams Consulting and Parametrix, May 2007). The authors report that data they collected revealed a surplus of parking, providing opportunities for creative parking management practices, including economic development opportunities supported by the reduction of required minimums and the tightening of maximums.
The study makes a number of recommendations, including changes in current policy/code and several near-term strategies to optimize the efficiency of the existing parking inventory in downtown Beaverton. Longer-term strategies are also offered for consideration.
Incentives
The City and Metro recognize that, in order to achieve the development goals set for the Westgate property, it may be necessary to use creative financing approaches. There are a number of incentives that may be negotiated in exchange for specific public benefits that would otherwise be economically infeasible:
- Land value write-down, or purchase of a Transit Oriented Development (“TOD”) easement (in accordance with reuse value), to support transit friendly design with mixed-use higher density elements;
- Vertical Housing Development Zone (VHTZ) property tax abatement for 20-80 percent of the value of improvements for a 10 year period, in accordance with the Oregon VHTZ program, and with participation approved by the City;
- Amendment of the City’s Development Code (DC), to permit and encourage taller buildings, higher density, and more sustainable design;
- Reduction of parking requirements to support transit-oriented design and increased development density;
- There is an opportunity to negotiate a long-term relationship with the Open Source Incubator Lab to relocate its offices to Westgate and occupy 15-20 thousand square feet office space; and
- Phasing of project System Development Charge (“SDC”) payments over a defined time period or reinvestment of SDC fees in project-related improvements would be unprecedented, but the City will consider proposals.
The City and Metro welcome creative proposals that will align potential incentives with developer efforts to meet and surpass development objectives.