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38 <br /> 6. Regular Agenda <br /> a. Professional Services Contract with Development Finance Initiative (UNC School of <br /> Government) for Pre-Development Services for the Greene Tract and Approval of <br /> Budget Amendment#1-A <br /> The Board authorized the County Manager to sign a contract on behalf of Orange County to <br /> procure a professional services contract with the Development Finance Initiative (DFI) for pre- <br /> development services for the Greene Tract and approved Budget Amendment#1-A to provide for <br /> the total cost of the project. <br /> BACKGROUND: With the anticipated conclusion in late September/October of the current <br /> community engagement and Master Plan efforts on the jointly-owned Greene Tract, the three <br /> local government owners/partners (Orange County and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro) <br /> are looking ahead to the next necessary phase of realizing development of the Greene Tract. An <br /> in-depth financial feasibility analysis of the Master Plan is necessary, including an analysis of <br /> providing housing at various levels of affordability and public investment support. Additionally, a <br /> development partner(s) must be identified and selected. <br /> Staffs have identified the DFI program at the UNC School of Government as uniquely suited to <br /> perform the necessary analyses and project marketing to private sector developers (both non- <br /> profit and for-profit) who would construct the Master Plan. DFI partners with communities "to <br /> attract private investment for transformative projects by providing specialized finance and real <br /> estate development expertise." The Scope of Services for the proposed contract is included in <br /> Attachment 1. Letters of Support from the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro are included in <br /> Attachment 2. <br /> Many of the tasks in the Scope of Services are expected to be completed in a 12-18-month <br /> timeframe. However, the contract with DFI will be for 10 years, until December 1, 2035, as DFI <br /> will be a partner in soliciting private sector developers to bring the Master Plan to on-the-ground <br /> fruition, which may occur in phases. <br /> In a separate agenda item on this September 5, 2024 Business meeting agenda, the existing <br /> contract for Master Plan services with Thomas & Hutton is proposed to be extended in the event <br /> that adjustments to the Master Plan resulting from community engagement efforts are necessary <br /> as a result of the financial feasibility analysis DFI will complete. <br /> The proposed DFI contract is one part of overall efforts to develop the Greene Tract in accordance <br /> with community desires, to include affordable housing. Other processes, such as "entitlement" <br /> (zoning approval) by the Town of Chapel Hill will run concurrently with DFI's and Thomas & <br /> Hutton's work. The entitlement process is expected to be in the form of a Development Agreement <br /> and is expected to commence in October 2024. Attachment 3 is a DRAFT timeline of the Master <br /> Plan and Entitlement, with the timeline subject to refinements as a variety of activities are <br /> underway that could necessitate updates. <br /> Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director, Long-Range Planning &Administration, made the following <br /> presentation: <br />