1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: November 1, 2022
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director Via: Simone McFarland, Assistant Community Development Director By: Marcos Gonzalez, Housing Development Manager
SUBJECT: Approval of the Selected Proposal for Potential Lease at 2244 N. Buena Vista Street, Burbank (Former Boys and Girls Club)
RECOMMENDATION
Direct staff to award, and negotiate terms of a lease for 2244 N. Buena Vista Street with Home Again Los Angeles.
BACKGROUND
From 1994 through 2021, the Boys and Girls Club leased the building for $1 per year. In May of 2021, the Boys and Girls Club vacated the property and moved to a new facility.
The property currently remains vacant. At the April 5, 2022, City Council meeting, staff was directed to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to lease the City-owned building at 2244 N. Buena Vista Street (“Property”) to a non-profit that will provide mutually agreeable City services that supports the City’s mission.
City Council requested staff to proceed with the release of an RFP to solicit proposals from qualified non-profits to use the property to provide low- and/or no-cost services and resources primarily to the Burbank community . The City Council requested staff to evaluate all proposals based on their ability to financially support renovation costs, ongoing maintenance, and long-term repairs along with negotiated rent without requiring ongoing City monetary support for those costs.
Since the building is in extreme disrepair , on June 7, 2022, City Council allocated $413,756 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to be used toward the
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 substantially needed improvements for the building that are estimated to be between $1.4M to $1.7M.
Staff issued the RFP from June 8, 2022, to July 15, 2022, and received proposals from three non-profits: Home Again Los Angeles, Kids’ Community Dental Clinic, and Dreams to Reality Foundation. Below is a summary of each proposal.
Home Again L os Angeles proposed moving their current administration office and existing programs from a two -bedroom apartment to 2244 N. Buena Vista Street along with possibly adding four pre -manufactured dwelling units to the site. Their current programs include:
• Providing shelter to homeless families
• Helping families and individuals to obtain housing through the Rapid Rehousing Program
• Homeless Prevention for eligible households who are in jeopardy of losing their homes
• Providing transitional housing for chronically homeless families • Offering financial literacy and self-sufficiency workshops • Operating a drop-in center for families experiencing homelessness
If selected as the successful applicant , Home Again Los Angeles would add new programs that would include:
• Build out four tiny homes on site for families experiencing homelessness (long- term goal)
• Conduct screening assessments, program enrollment , and provide confidential one-on-one counseling in a private atmosphere
• Provide a community resource room accessible to agencies looking to offer essential services and a place to meet
Kids’ Community Dental Clinic proposed to move their dentistry office out of a 980 square foot building located at 400 W. Elmwood Avenue to 2244 N. Buena Vista Street.
Their current services include:
• Running a Pediatric Dental Clinic and providing comprehensive pediatric dentistry to thousands of low-income children
• Offering basic dental treatments and dental health education at schools and health fairs for both children and adults
• Delivering student mentoring and clinical rotations
If selected as the successful respondent , Kids’ Community Dental Clinic would add new programs that would include:
3 • Add to the number of dental operatories to serve children and open additional opportunities for training
• Add two quiet rooms to accommodate the most fearful children • Create a second closed operatory
• Provide private office area to confer with staff, patients and parents • Create onsite storage for materials
• Develop a community conference area that would double as a training area • Make their new dentistry home a compliant space with the Office of Statewide Planning and Development to serve more children (long term) • Care for special needs patient treatments (long term) • Create a robust workforce development program (long term) • Possible joint use with another non-profit (long term)
Dreams to Reality Foundation proposed to demolish the exis ting building and build affordable housing on the site. This proposal was not responsive to the RFP for two reasons. 1) The City Council specifically asked for a proposal response that would lease the building to a non-profit 2) If the City Council wishes to build housing at the project site, the development would be subject to the Surplus Land Act that requires the offers be solicited through the Surplus Land Act’s regulations. This would mean that a development partner would be solicited using an RFP posted on SLA’s website, instead of the current RFP process staff was directed to follow.
RFP Review Committee & Evaluation
While respondents were working on their proposals , staff created a R eview Committee that consisted of two Community Development Department team members, one Park s and Recreation employee, one representative from the Burbank Chamber of Commerce and one committee member from the Community Development Goals Committee, the City’s committee that reviews CDBG funding requests.
The evaluation criteria used to rank the leasing proposals consisted of the following areas that were also stated in the RFP instructions.
• Clarity of Proposal and Understanding of the Project 0 – 15 points • Prior Experience and Community Services 0 – 20 points • Alignment to City Council Goals 0 – 25 points • Financial Ability to Support Submitted Proposal 0 – 40 points
4 DISCUSSION
Each Review Committee Member was provided the three proposals to evaluate and rank.
They later met as a group on August 25, 2022, to review the proposals, and discuss their individual ra nkings and the reasons for their ranking. Based on the discussion and cumulative scores, the respondents were ranked as follows (highest to lowest score):
#1 Home Again Los Angeles
#2 Kids’ Community Dental Clinic
#3 Dreams to Reality Foundation
Although the City received a limited num ber of proposals, the Review Committee acknowledges the time and effort put into each application. It is important to note that the decision was not easy. The qualified candidates are both excellent and worthy non-profits who demonstrate a commitment to serving the Burbank community. A few of the reasons for ranking Home Again Los Angeles hi gher than Kids’ Community Dental Clinic is that Home Again Los Angeles was in closer alignment to the City Council’s and community’s goals for this property. The number one concern shown in the recent 2022 Community Survey is homeless ness and one of the City Co uncil’s top goals is addressing the community’s concerns about homelessness . Home Again L os Angeles focuses their efforts on homelessness . Additionally, t he size of the facility was considered in comparison to the perceived space needed for the services listed within the proposal responses.
It appears Kids’ Community Dental Clinic needs a larger space than it s current location; however, the 20,000 square foot parcel at 2244 N. Buena Vista Street location may be larger than they need to expand their dentistry services . This was evidenced by the additional proposed workforce development programs for the future, which are outside their current expertise. Home Again Los Angeles showed that they could use all of the 20,000 square feet for services much aligned to their current programs. Lastly, t he Committee believed that there is a large number of homeless families within the City limits that could use assistance. The latest report from the Burbank Unified School District indicates there are 63 families experiencing homelessness. While based on the numbers provided by Kids’ Community Dental Clinic, it seems as though they already serve the majority of Burbank’s residents and an expansion would largely assist low -income residents outside the City.
If the City Council selects Home Again Los Angeles as the non- profit to enter into lease negotiations, staff will offer Kids ’ Community Dental Clinic the opportunity to take advantage of free capacity building consulting services using CDBG funds that have been allocated for these types of purposes. Capacity building could focus on identifying specific space needs, fund raising and identifying a future building.
5 FISCAL IMPACT
While the financial impact will be determined as the City Council enters negotiations with a selected non-profit, it is important to note that both organizations will need additional funding to complete their plans even with the CDBG money allocated by City Council in Fiscal Year 2022/23 for building improvements. Some of this will come from the non - profit’s fundraising and some may need to come from a future CDBG grant.
CONCLUSION
The agencies that replied to the 2244 N. Buena Vista Street RFP are extremely qualified and bring critical services to the City of Burbank; however, only one could be selected as the possible new tenant based on the successful negotiation of lease terms. And, based on the responses, it doesn’t seem feasible that both respondents could co-habitate in the space.
Home Again Los Angeles is recommended for the following reasons:
• Helping to solve homelessness is one of the top priorities of the City Council. • Homelessness was one of the largest concerns voiced by the community during the 2022 Community Survey.
• Home Again Los Angeles could use all the 20,000 square feet of space within the facility while the Kids’ Community Dental Clinic programs may not need such a large facility.
• The Committee believed that there is a large number of homeless families within the City’s limits that could use assistance. While based on the numbers provided by Kid s’ Community Dental Clinic, it seems as though they already serve the
majority of Burbank’s residents and an expansion would largely assist low-income residents from outside the City.
The Review Committee recommends that City Council select Home Again Los Angeles and direct staff to enter into lease negotiations. During such negotiations, staff may return to City Council with a closed session agenda item for its consideration of price and terms of the lease. Once negotiations have been completed, staff will provide a lease for City Council’s review and approval.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – RFP Response from Home Again Los Angeles Attachment 2 – RFP Response from Kids’ Community Dental Clinic Attachment 3 – RFP Response from Dreams to Reality Foundation Attachment 4 – 2244 Buena Vista RFP