HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 9609 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9609
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council December 10, 2013
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SUBJECT: PROPOSED WAIVER OF STREET RENTAL FEES IN THE AMOUNT
rF OF APPROXIMATELY $273,500.00 ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROPOSED
EXPANSION OF COOK CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
Cook Children's Medical Center is planning a $340 million expansion. The project includes a new
South Tower, a new Permanent Urgent Care Unit and a Utility Plant. The new South Tower will
be a total of eight floors, with two underground floors and six stories above ground. The South
Tower will house a new Heart Center, and an expanded laboratory. A new Utility Plant will be
constructed to support the South Tower and future growth. It is anticipated that 150-200 new full
time positions will be created as part of the expansion. Additionally, the proposed expansion will
greatly benefit the city by providing additional medical care and have a large positive economic
impact to the city.
Based on the proposed construction schedule, Cook Children's Medical Center initially estimated
that it would need the streets around the project site closed for a period of 48 months. However,
at the City's request, Cook Children's engineering firm worked with the staff to identify
opportunities in the proposed construction plans that would allow the impact created by street
closures to be minimized. Ultimately, the City was able to secure a commitment that the streets
should need to be closed for only 26 months, thereby reducing the project's impact on traffic in
the area by almost two years. In return for Cook Children's initiative to work with the City to
minimize traffic congestion around the project, staff agreed to recommend that the City Council
authorize the waiver of all street rental fees for this 26-month period. Staff believes that this fee
waiver is appropriate because it directly leverages the public purpose of reducing traffic
congestion and the resulting inconvenience to the traveling public that would otherwise be caused
by this project.
The calculated value of the 26-month fee waiver is $273,500.00. Staff will work closely with the
Hospital during the permitting process to ensure that safe pedestrian zones and appropriate
traffic control devices are in place during the construction. Additionally, the City has sufficient
controls in place through its permitting process to ensure that the public purposes outlined above
are carried out.
Cook Children's Medical Center is located in Council District 9.
Tom Higgins
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS