HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 07 24 - Letter from Edward J. Morgan,Ail Catalyst 3 Realty
July 24, 2017
Mr. Joe Griffin
City Manager
City of Sebastian
1225 Main Street
Sebastian, FL 32958
RE: Shady Rest Mobile Home Park
13225 US Hwy 1
Dear Mr. Griffin,
I have been working with Mr. Ed Howland for the past 12 Months on the redevelopment of the 17
acre property referenced above. In follow-up to your conversation with him we wanted to share
our desired plans for the property, outline the benefits to the City of Sebastian, and seek your
support in refining and furthering our goals.
Not long ago Mr. Howland came to the realization that the existing mobile home park had fully
matured as a business. It no longer made economic sense to re -invest in maintaining the
operation. Shortly after that decision had been made, he was approached by an international
grocery store chain interested in establishing a presence on the site. After a few months of
negotiations a portion of the property was put under contract by the grocer. My company was
informed by a local real estate broker that the balance of the property was available for sale and
re -development. We did our research and believe it is a great development opportunity to serve
the diverse market demands for up-to-date retail options, medical office, hotels and restaurants in
the area.
We believe the proper combination of those uses will provide the following benefits to the City of
Sebastian:
• Replace a mature mobile home park with a new vibrant mixed-use development catering
to the needs of the community for years to come,
• The redevelopment will significantly increase the city's tax base in the property,
• It will serve as a catalyst to the growth of retail, residential and other commercial demands
in the immediate vicinity,
Our design plans will be refined to meet the current and future real estate needs of the Sebastian
community, however, one component of our plan is critical to the safety of the visitors to the site.
That component is the introduction of left turn access into the property from US Hwy 1 North. Our
engineer's estimates predict that the redeveloped property will generate approximately 10,000-
12,000 vehicle trips per day (based on the standard methodology of the Institute of Traffic
Engineers shown in the enclosed tabulations). Also enclosed please find a copy of our current
development master plan for the 17 -acre property, which includes a schematic of a traffic -lit
110130" St. NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20007
202-746-7460
intersection and entrance drive bisecting Mr. Howland's property. We believe this new intersection
is critical to the economic success of the project, as well as, in removing the unsafe traffic
movements associated with northbound US 1 patrons visiting the site (more than 5,000 trips per
day). More particularly, those US Hwy 1 northbound drivers will be forced to make a U -Turn north
of the site (at the Home Depot left turn off of US Hwy 1 N), and cross two lanes of traffic, in order
to enter the site. Please see the enclosed aerial depicting that U -Turn movement.
We are currently trying to schedule a meeting with the Florida Department of Transportation to
seek their approval of a traffic -lit intersection to serve the property. We believe the positive
impact of our development on the north end of the City of Sebastian will be immense, but we are
very concerned about the access limitations and safety issues that will arise if northbound US 1
Hwy visitors must make that u -turn at Home Depot. We would greatly appreciate a representative
of the city attending our meeting with FDOT to share the city's support (Can you attend?). In
addition to a representative's potential attendance at the FDOT meeting, we would appreciate a
letter of support from the city's traffic engineer, citing the safety elements highlighted herein and
the economic benefits to the city of granting a traffic signal.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Morgan
cc: Ms. Andrea Coy
Mr. Ed Howland
Mr. Jordan Ford
Enclosures
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