Agenda - 05-20-2004-4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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was what the Council was requesting. Council Member Kleinschmidt explained that it would be respectful to respond, noting that some Committee members had strong relationships with UNC. Continuing his presentation, Mr'. Waldrop stated that UNC had been discussing a 50-70 year development but the amount of development would depend on their programmatic needs. They hope to develop in seven phases, which would take 7-10 years each and result in five different conununities or neighborhoods, he explained. Council Member Harrison asked if LTNC would need bonding authority from the General Assembly to pay for infrastructure, Mr. Waldrop replied that UNC was not looking to the State for resources to directly fund Carolina North. He would have a more definitive answer later on, he said. Council Member Strom asked what resources LTNC anticipated needing for infrastructure for Phase I and beyond. "What is the infrastructure development cost that you are using to ,judge the fiscal structure here?" Council Member Strom asked Mr. Waldrop suggested that Doug Firstenberg, a UNC consultant with Stonebridge Associates, address that question. Mr. Firstenberg said the estimated cost over a 50-year timeframe would be $100 million in today's dollars. That would build the basic "horizontal infiastruchrre," he said, and would include roads, sewer and water. Mr. Firstenberg explained that the plan for the overall project would be aself-liquidating model. UNC would not go to the State for financing and cannot drain resources from Carolina North, he said. Mr, Firstenberg told Council members that the program would repay itself over the years through a variety ofrevenue-generating measures. Council Member Strom determined that Mr. Firstenberg could not answer at this point what it will cost to do the investment in infrastructure to get Phase I off the ground.. Mr, Firstenberg replied that he hoped to come back in June or .July with more specific answers to such questions. Council Member Strom asked how many dollars LTNC had committed thus far from sources other than the State. Mr. Firstenberg replied that they had not yet sought any commirinents for funding and were about to develop a business plan that would explain how the project would work financially. Council Member Strom asked if that meant there were no hard conunitments and dollars sitting in some account somewhere for Carolina North. Mr. Firstenberg replied that right now it was zero, but that planners were confident that they would come up with a business plan that would achieve the self-liquidating goah Mayor Foy clarified that the $100 million was the estimated cost of building the infrastructure for the entire plan. He added, though, that it seemed like it would cost $1- 1/2 million in today's dollars to build out the eight million square feet, Mr. Firstenberg replied that iJNC had not estimated the eight million square feet vertical costs. Part of the reason that this was a 50-70 year open plan was that the pace of development would be driven by the financial realities of when people have the resources to finance it and by progranunatic needs, he said.