After clearing the Downtown Investment Authority board in May, a package of incentives for the proposed Related Group tower on the Southbank is now in the pipeline for City Council approval.
Ordinance 2024-0748, which is scheduled to be introduced at the Council’s Sept. 10 meeting, would provide $58.79 million in city incentives for the Miami-based developer’s planned 25-story high-rise and mixed-use project on the former site of the River City Brewery.
The package comprises a $39 million completion grant and a 30-year, 75% Recapture Enhanced Value Grant of $19.79 million for the development, which would include 390 residential units and associated amenities, an indoor/outdoor restaurant with a minimum of 4,000 square feet, a 1,000-square-foot ship store and a 550-space parking garage with 30 spaces designated for public parking.
Under a proposed development agreement between Related and the city, the developer would make a minimum capital investment of $202.74 million.
Related also would be required to reconstruct a 25-foot-wide stretch of the Southbank Riverwalk and a sidewalk connecting the riverwalk to a public boat ramp near the site.
A timeline calls for construction to begin within 180 days and be completed within 40 months after the development agreement is executed.
Related first came to the Southbank with a proposal that included an eight-story apartment building but no high-rise tower.
A new proposal that emerged in 2023 and included a tower, among other new elements, fell victim to increased construction prices that left the estimated cost of the project $30 million higher than anticipated.
The DIA board voted 8-0 on May 15, 2024, to recommend approval of the incentive package.
A REV grant is a refund on ad valorem tax revenue generated by a new development.
The new incentives package includes changes in methodology the DIA is proposing for evaluating high-rise developments. Instead of basing the city’s return on investment of incentives over 20 years, the DIA is proposing extending the calculation period to 30 years to reflect increases in construction and financing costs since the adoption of the methodology.