The proposed developers have dissolved their partnership, setting progress on Midtown redevelopment back months.
After nearing the end of contract negotiations, E2L Real Estate Solutions and Taurus Investments will not be developing Midtown. At least, not together they won’t be.
E2L and Taurus had, in March, formed a partnership to develop a proposal for the long-awaited Midtown project. The city accepted the joint proposal in July and entered into contract negotiations shortly after. However, city officials said they were recently informed that the two companies parted ways, thus forcing the city to terminate contract negotiations.
Representatives from Taurus could not be reached for comment and representatives from E2L did not respond to a request for comment.
The dissolution of the companies’ partnership and termination of contract negotiations has now forced the city to reissue a request for proposal (RFP), the stage the city was at near the end of March when it issued its last RFP.
This time, though, the RFP period was set for 30 days, shorter than the original RFP period.
“The cleanest way to avoid any pitfall would be to reissue an RFP for a 30-day period,” Interim City Manager Kim Leinbach said. “It’s not something brand new, it’s a reissue.”
Leinbach said reissuing the RFP might be a “hiccup,” but it was something completely out of the city’s control, but there is a silver lining. According to the city’s procurement manager Buddy Story, more companies have expressed interest in submitting proposals for Midtown.
The city had only received two proposals in July, one from Taurus/E2L and one from Green Mills Group. Green Mills’ proposal to develop housing in the area was determined to be less in line with the city’s vision for the area. The Taurus/E2L proposal, however, was determined to meet the city’s vision of turning midtown into a live-work-play, mixed-use facility city leaders hope will help shed Plant City’s status as a bedroom community for nearby cities.
Mayor Rick Lott said a number of developers had expressed interest in the original RFP but did not submit because of time constraints. According to Story, some of those could be coming back. Story said Taurus and E2L are expected to submit separate proposals, with at least two more indicating more proposals could come.
“We do have more interest,” Story said. “We’ve had a good range of responses.”
The Midtown project has been both a source of hope and frustration in Plant City. It began more than 10 years ago with great promise, but a national financial crisis came shortly after and the project was stalled. As the economy began a slow-crawl return, more issues, including environmental concerns, continued to stall progress.
After spending more than $4 million priming the area for development over the last decade, city officials felt preventative hurdles had been cleared leading to the selection of a development team. Leinbach, who was hired in part because of his experience with redevelopment projects as city manager of Temple Terrace, said speed bumps like this sometimes come with the redevelopment territory. The city, he said, remains steadfast.
“The city knows what it wants. This is a redoubling of efforts and making sure we stay on track with our goals,” he said. “I’d love to see a contract completed with a successful respondent in 90 days, then proceed with the plan and implementation.”
The 30-day RFP period will expire around mid December. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, comprised of city commissioners, will then choose a new developer for the project.
