TITLE
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF GROUND LEASE AGREEMENTS WITH RUDG LLC OR THEIR ASSIGNEE, FOR MARTIN FINE VILLAS/HALEY SOFGE AND CLAUDE PEPPER TOWERS SITES; AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE GROUND LEASE AGREEMENTS FOR AND ON BEHALF OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, AND TO MAKE ANY NECESSARY AMENDMENTS AND TO EXERCISE ANY TERMINATION, CANCELLATION AND RENEWAL PROVISIONS; CONSENTING TO SUBLEASING OF THE SITES BY RUDG LLC; AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO SUBMIT DISPOSITION APPLICATIONS TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT FOR THE SITES APPROVING THE DISPOSITION OF THESE SITES, SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; AND AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE AMENDMENTS TO ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION CONTRACTS, AGREEMENTS, RELEASES, AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT MAY BE REQUIRED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

BODY
WHEREAS, this Board desires to accomplish the purposes outlined in the accompanying memorandum, a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that:

Section 1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated in this resolution and are approved.

Section 2. The Board authorizes the execution of ground lease agreements with RUDG, LLC or their assignee for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge and Claude Pepper Towers sites, in substantially the form attached hereto and made a part hereof. The Board further authorizes the County Mayor or the County Mayor�s designee to make any additional amendments to said ground leases, as may be required to meet the requirements of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and/or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and further authorizes the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to execute same for and on behalf of Miami Dade County and to exercise any cancellation and renewal provisions and any other rights contained therein.

Section 3. The Board consents to RUDG LLC, entering into sub-ground leases, as may be required to meet the requirements of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and/or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and further authorizes the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to execute same for and on behalf of Miami Dade County and to exercise any cancellation and renewal provisions and any other rights contained therein.

Section 4. The Board authorizes the County Mayor or the County Mayor�s designee to submit disposition applications for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge and Claude Pepper Towers sites to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in the event RUDG LLC or their assignee is awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits for the sites. The Board further approves such dispositions of these sites, subject to approval by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Section 5. The Board authorizes the County Mayor or the County Mayor�s designee to execute amendments to annual contributions contracts, if required; to execute any agreements, releases from declarations, and any other documents on behalf of the County that may be required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and to exercise amendments, modifications, cancellation, and termination clauses contained therein.

Section 6. The County Mayor or the County Mayor�s designee, pursuant to Resolution No. R-974-09, shall record in the public record all deeds, covenants, reverters and mortgages creating or reserving a real property interest in favor of the County and shall provide a copy of such recorded instruments to the Clerk of the Board within thirty (30) days of execution and final acceptance. The Board directs the Clerk of the Board, pursuant to Resolution No. R-974-09, to attach and permanently store a recorded copy of any instrument provided in accordance herewith together with this resolution.

HEADER
Date:

To: Honorable Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

From: Carlos A. Gimenez
Mayor
Subject: Recommendation for Approval to Execute Ground Leases with RUDG�s assignees for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge and Claude Pepper Towers sites

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (Board) approve the execution of ground leases (Leases) with RUDG, LLC or their assignees (Developer), in order to provide site control for the future development of the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge and Claude Pepper Towers sites. The Developer requires the Leases as evidence of site control, which is a prerequisite for their nine percent (9%) Low Income Housing Tax Credits (Housing Tax Credits) application that they intend to submit to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Finance Corporation) in the 2013 Universal Cycle for development financing for these sites. It is also recommended that the Board consent to the Developer subleasing the sites for the purposes described herein.

Additionally, it is recommended that the Board authorize the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to submit disposition applications to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Housing and Urban Development) for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge Towers site and the Claude Pepper Towers site, which were previously approved by the Board as a result of Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 794. It is further recommended that the Board authorize the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to execute amendments to annual contribution contracts agreements, releases, and other documents on behalf of Miami-Dade County (County) as may be required by Housing and Urban Development.

CONTRACT NO: N/A

CONTRACT TITLE: Ground Lease between Miami-Dade County and Developer

PROPERTY ADDRESSES: for Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge Towers site: Folio 01-3135-047-0010 (District 5-Commissioner Bruno A. Barreiro); and the Claude Pepper Towers site: Folio 01-3135-018-0310 (District 3- Commissioner Audrey M. Edmonson)

METHOD OF AWARD: The Developer and award of ground leases for the two sites were selected pursuant to RFP No. 794 and approved by Resolution No. R-1026-11.

DESCRIPTION: The Developer will execute ground leases and any other documents that may be required by Housing and Urban Development or the Finance Corporation.

TERM: Eleven (11) months from the effective date of the Ground Lease, subject to the Developer obtaining nine percent (9%) Housing Tax Credits.

COUNTY FUNDING SOURCE: None

PERFORMANCE DATA: There are no known performance issues with the recommended firms.

COMPLIANCE DATA: There are no known compliance issues with the recommended firms.

CONTRACT MEASURES: N/A

LIVING WAGE: The services provided are not covered under the Living Wage Ordinance.

USER ACCESS PROGRAM: The User Access program does not apply to revenue contracts.

LOCAL PREFERENCES: Not applicable due to public housing and federal funding restrictions.

DELEGATED AUTHORITY: If this item is approved, the County Mayor or the County Mayor�s designee will have the authority to exercise, at the discretion of the County Mayor, to make any necessary amendments required by the Finance Corporation or Housing and Urban Development, and to exercise termination, cancellation, and renewal provisions in accordance with the terms and conditions of the ground leases and any amendments.

USING/MANAGING AGENCY: Public Housing and Community Development (Department)

SCOPE: Pursuant to Resolution No. R-1026-11, the scope of these projects will not be finalized until the Master Development Agreements are executed. Negotiations will commence in the event the Developer is awarded nine percent (9%) Housing Tax Credits from the Finance Corporation. It is anticipated that successful negotiations will result in improvements to the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge and Claude Pepper Towers sites and/or revenue sharing agreements between the Developer and the County.

TRACK RECORD/MONITORING: Jorge Cibran, Director of Facilities and Development Division, Public Housing and Community Development Department

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
Background:
RFP No. 794 was issued on July 14, 2011, to solicit offers from developers to maximize and expedite the development potential of over 100 existing public housing sites and vacant land sites administered by the Department. The solicitation sought to establish partnerships with qualified entities to rehabilitate/upgrade existing public housing units, remove and replace obsolete public housing units, increase the number of units on underutilized sites, develop vacant land owned by the County, and also incorporate commercial and other special purpose uses, where appropriate, at particular public housing sites or vacant land sites. Additionally, the Department sought to replace its older units with new contemporary designs that resemble market-rate units (regardless of whether these are public housing, affordable or market-rate units) and incorporate creative and sustainable design solutions.

Pursuant to Resolution No. R-1026-11, on November 23, 2011, the Board awarded site control through ground leases to six (6) developers for a total of twenty eight (28) project sites. Resolution No. R-1026-11 approved the Developer for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge site and the Claude Pepper Towers site and approved the execution of ground leases for those sites. The ground leases were subsequently executed for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge and Claude Pepper Towers sites, and the Developer applied for nine percent (9%) Housing Tax Credits from the Finance Corporation in the 2011 Universal Cycle. However, the Developer was not awarded Housing Tax Credits for these sites in the 2011 Universal Cycle. The leases were for a term of 11 months and were also dependent upon receiving funding and therefore have expired. This process was further enumerated in the November 15, 2012 memorandum to the Economic Development and Social Services Committee (Attachment A).

The Developer now seeks to apply for nine percent (9%) Housing Tax Credits for the 2013 Universal Cycle for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge and Claude Pepper Towers sites. However, Board approval of a ground lease is a prerequisite to apply for Housing Tax Credits as this establishes site control. The Leases include the authorization to enter into sub-ground leases. It is expected that each site will have multiple funding applications, and therefore, is different from previous ground leases. The sub-ground leases are for the purposes of separating and delineating the specific areas to be developed with this specific funding application, and will be determined at a later date. The Leases are contingent on obtaining funding award from the Finance Corporation.

For the last several months, the Finance Corporation has been evaluating its rule-making process to determine the requirements for 2013 applications for Housing Tax Credits. The Finance Corporation has changed its approach and will issue several Requests for Proposals (Finance Corporation Solicitation). The initial Finance Corporation Solicitation is open to applicants proposing developments of affordable rental Permanent Supportive Housing for Persons with Special Needs, with a goal to fund one application for Veterans with Special Needs. The Developer will submit two (2) applications in this new cycle, one for the Martin Fine Villas/Haley Sofge site for Special Needs housing, and the other for the Claude Pepper Towers site (with additional units at this existing site) for Veterans with Special Needs housing. The Finance Corporation Solicitation was issued on April 15, 2013 and the due date is May 24, 2013 (a seven (7) week application period). In light of the very short application period and the pending deadline, the attached ground leases are being presented to the Board for approval. Additionally, it is also recommended that the County Mayor waive his veto authority to allow the Developer to meet the Finance Corporation deadline subsequent to Board approval.

In order to proceed with the development of these sites, the County, as a public housing authority, must seek prior approval from Housing and Urban Development. This requires a disposition application to Housing and Urban Development for each respective development site. However, the County cannot submit its applications to Housing and Urban Development without first obtaining approval from the Board. The County will only submit the disposition application if the Developer is awarded Housing Tax Credits. Therefore, it is recommended that the Board approve the attached resolution authorizing the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to submit disposition applications to Housing and Urban Development for the subject sites.


Attachments



__________________________
Russell Benford, Deputy Mayor