Latest news with #Benesch
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Is development ‘out of control?' A Florida county wants developers to pay more
As development booms in Florida, leaders in one Gulf Coast county want to start charging builders millions more to pay for issues caused by growth. Manatee County ommissioners have reviewed a plan to raise impact fee rates for local development to the maximum allowed by state law. The one-time fees collected from developers help pay for infrastructure like new roads, water and sewer utilities, schools, parks, libraries and emergency services. Manatee County's past handling of impact fees has drawn criticism from some residents and officials, who say that Braenton-area developers aren't paying their fair share for problems caused by rapid building. Last year, commissioners had a chance to revisit the fees. But rather than seeking substantially higher rates, they chose to approve a moderate increase of 50% over four years. They also chose to base the increase off of rates set in 2015 rather than using updated figures — a move critics said would result in millions of dollars of impact fees going uncollected. But after November's election brought a shift in policy to the county commission, leaders have moved forward with a plan to significantly update and raise the fees. They contracted an engineering firm, Benesch, to complete a study showing that Manatee County meets the 'extraordinary circumstances' needed to do so under state law. While residents have shown broad support for the hike in impact fees, some local developers are not happy. They showed up at a recent Land Use Meeting to protest the county's plan. Now commissioners are set to hold a final vote on a fee increase. Manatee County moves to raise fees on development In 2021, state legislators created extra steps that local governments must take to raise impact fees by more than 50%. First, counties must order a study showing that 'extraordinary circumstances' exist to justify a fee increase. Then, the county must hold two public workshops to discuss it. Manatee County commissioners held those workshops on May 7 and May 8. Finally, five of seven board members must approve the fee increase. State law does not define what counts as 'extraordinary circumstances,' but local governments around Florida have successfully used the language to raise fees. Nilgun Kamp, a principal associate with Benesch, said legitimate reasons to raise fees include rapid growth, higher infrastructure costs and unfunded infrastructure needs. Local governments can also adjust fees that are outdated or 'artificially low' due to past policies, Kamp said. Kamp said Manatee County checks all of those boxes as it experiences one of the highest levels of population growth and development in the state. During a presentation to commissioners, Kamp said Manatee ranks 12th of Florida's 67 counties for projected growth rate, with 159,000 new residents expected to arrive by 2050. While the county ranks 15th in population, it ranks 8th in permits issued for new housing, Kamp's presentation noted. 'This is all to say, you're a large county, growing rapidly,' Kamp said. 'You're ranking ... top 20% of all counties in terms of your growth levels.' Increase could double Manatee's impact fee revenue At the current rates, Manatee County collects around $63 million per year in impact fee revenue. With maximum fees, the county could more than double that number, Kamp said. The Benesch study projects that Manatee County could collect, at maximum, $119 million to $153 million per year with updated rates. For example, under the current rates, a developer pays about $14,000 in impact fees for a 1,700-square-foot home. Under the proposed rates, that amount would increase by 133% to around $33,000. The extra funding would help expand public safety programs, law enforcement, libraries, parks and transportation, the study says. Impact fees must be spent in the part of the county where they are collected and cannot be used to repair or maintain existing infrastructure. But they can be used to expand existing infrastructure capacity, such as adding additional lanes to a road. Developers criticize impact fee hike Developer Pat Neal of Neal Communities started public comment with accusations that the board's public hearings about the impact fee increases were poorly advertised. 'I do think there'll be some legal controversy because this is so different than the decision made by the board (last year),' Neal said. Neal argued that higher impact fees will increase home prices by thousands of dollars and have a negative impact on first-time home buyers. He said the county should look at other sources of money to upgrade infrastructure. 'As I have said many times, there are lots of other sources of revenue for transportation. We kind of feel ... that you're punishing the building industry,' Neal said. 'We ask that you be careful with what you do.' As an example, Neal argued that the proposed impact fees would result in a $20,000 price increase for buyers of SimplyDwell Homes, a subsidiary of Neal Communities with average home prices in the mid $300,000 range. The developer said he does not oppose impact fees, but asked the county to rethink the rates. 'We'd like you to consider this more gently,' Neal said. Over a dozen employees of Neal Communities and SimplyDwell Homes also spoke during public comment to oppose the impact fee increase. Local land use attorney Ed Vogler, who recently spoke against the board's move to restrict development in East Manatee County, spoke against the impact fee increase on behalf of the Suncoast Builders Association. The association has advocated for other development-friendly policies, including the reduction of Manatee County's wetland protections. 'The policy of increasing impact fees does nothing to improve the quality of life of current residents that live in the core of our community. This is an unbalanced approach,' Vogler said. Vogler also claimed that the move to raise impact fees could violate state law, an argument that developers have recently used to oppose other county policies aimed at reining in growth and protecting the environment. Residents support higher fees for developers Eight residents called in to support raising impact fees, citing concerns about the strain that rapid growth has placed on the county's traffic, schools, utilities and safety. 'The market is already stagnating ... because we are overselling at providing a lot of these so-called quality homes,' Dalton Nelson said. 'The infrastructure has to catch up ... we have to raise the impact fees now in order to slow things down enough so that we can address a lot of these backlog issues.' 'We all know the impact fees need to be raised. We are driving on roads that are not made for all the traffic,' Myakka City resident Heidi Minihkeim said. 'These developers have been getting a free ride for a long time. It needs to stop.' 'We have had astronomical growth here. I don't think it's sustainable long term,' Matt Woods said. Commissioners debate impact fees Several commissioners expressed concerns that a sharp hike in impact fees could scare away businesses from building in Manatee County, from day care centers to manufacturing. Commissioner Mike Rahn said he would like to get more feedback from the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation before moving forward with an increase. 'The percentages across the board are astronomical on these impact fees,' Rahn said. 'With fees like this, I don't think that businesses are going to relocate to Manatee County,' Commissioner Amanda Ballard said. 'They'll see our numbers and they'll go to Hillsborough or Sarasota.' Ballard pointed to figures in the study showing that the cost of impact fees to build a 4,000-square-foot day care facility would be around $100,000. 'How can we exempt or discount for industries that we need and want to attract to the county?' Ballard asked. County staff responded that there are ways to discount or adjust impact fees for projects that are deemed beneficial to the community. For example, state law allows some impact fee exemptions for affordable housing projects. Commissioner George Kruse argued that the board can later look at ways to lower impact fees for certain types of development. 'We've had the ability to take these schedules and modify them,' Kruse said. 'The issue is, we haven't increased these since 2015. These were under-collected for 10 years.' Kruse said that developers' arguments about higher impact fees hurting housing affordability are disingenuous. 'You're not trying to build affordable. You're trying to build with the maximum profit margin you possibly can. Don't come to me and ask me to help subsidize your profit margin. This is a cost of business,' Kruse said. Other commissioners also spoke in favor of the fee increase, arguing that low impact fees have resulted in the county taking on debt to pay for infrastructure needs. 'This community has grown so far out of control that people are having problems living here now,' Commissioner Robert McCann said. 'We've been tasked out on this board to take care of the county's business, and to make sound business decisions, just like Mr. Neal,' Commissioner Jason Bearden said. 'We're not in the business of losing money. The taxpayers are not in the business of continuing to pay more and more taxes for the unsupported growth that is happening in this county. People that live in West Bradenton shouldn't have to be paying for the roads in east county.' 'This is something that we have to do,' Commissioner Carol Ann Felts said. 'The pendulum swung too far in one direction for too long.' 'I'm in support of moving this forward,' Commissioner Tal Siddique said. 'We are facing extraordinary circumstances. We can't just keep putting on more and more debt for future generations to pay it off.' What happens next? The commission is set to vote on the impact fee increase at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 5, during a Land Use Meeting in the commission chambers at 1112 Manatee Ave. W. in Bradenton. The meeting can be watched live on the county's YouTube channel. If approved, the new fees would go into effect in 90 days, according to the county.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Columbus to develop Safety Action Plan
COLUMBUS, Ga. () — Columbus officials are laying the groundwork for safer streets, aiming to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries. The Columbus Consolidated Government is partnering with planning firm Benesch to create a safety plan aiming to eliminate roadway deaths and serious injuries. The plan will use crash data and public feedback to shape infrastructure changes, safety policies, and education efforts. Benesch officials hosted a public meeting Monday evening in the Columbus Public Library. 'We're really just trying to get feedback from the community,' Benesh Project Manager, Alex Henry said, 'what their experiences are in driving, walking, biking around the community. What types of behaviors do they see? Are there specific intersections or locations where they feel unsafe?' The public meeting consisted of an open house format and presentation. One Columbus resident brought up issues such as schools that don't have wrap-around sidewalks. 'When you build a system of transportation that depends on people to perfectly observe the laws and being very skilled at driving that sort of thing, then things go bad.' said Columbus resident, Pat McHenry. 'Drivers are terrible, terrible here. They're terrible everywhere. The thing that needs to change is the system. And that's the approach that they're talking about here is changing the streets so that it is harder to make a mistake that is deadly for another.' McHenry is also a member of the organization Bicycle Columbus. Bicycle and walking ability were discussed in the presentation, as well as Columbus crash statistics. The next steps in development of an action plan include additional public meetings and project development. Officials say public feedback can help shape the future of street safety in Columbus. Residents can share input by filling out an online survey or using an interactive map to mark specific locations. For more information, visit the website at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Wire
01-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Paramount Signs 121,000 Square Foot Lease at 1301 Avenue of the Americas
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paramount Group, Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) ('Paramount' or the 'Company') announced today that it has signed a 121,000 square foot, 16.5 year lease with Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP ('Benesch') at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, a 1.8 million square-foot Class A office building, located between 52 nd and 53 rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Of the 121,000 square feet, approximately 30,000 square feet is short term. 'We are proud to welcome Benesch to 1301 Avenue of the Americas,' said Douglas Neye, Senior Vice President. 'This significant commitment is a testament to the building's many appealing attributes and another example of the New York office market's resurgence. By joining our tenant roster, Benesch employees will benefit from the building's central location and its amenity offerings, including membership to the Paramount Club. This members-only club, designed for tenants across our New York portfolio, remains a unique and valuable amenity in the market. With this agreement, 1301 Avenue of the Americas is 90% leased. We look forward to a long-term partnership with Benesch.' Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1301 Avenue of the Americas is a stunning 45-story office tower featuring over 1.8 million square feet of Class A office space. Additionally, the building provides direct access to Rockefeller Center, with its many upscale retail shops, fine dining establishments and subway connections. The building offers its tenants an abundance of natural light along with magnificent views of Central Park and other Midtown landmarks. About Paramount Group, Inc. Headquartered in New York City, Paramount Group, Inc. is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, acquires and redevelops high-quality, Class A office properties located in select central business district submarkets of New York City and San Francisco. Paramount is focused on maximizing the value of its portfolio by leveraging the sought-after locations of its assets and its proven property management capabilities to attract and retain high-quality tenants.
