2.6 20-0794 Subject: Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center - LDDA Second Amendment
From: Economic & Workforce Development Department
Recommendation: Adopt An Ordinance That Authorizes The City Administrator Or Designee To Negotiate And Execute A Second Amendment To The Lease Disposition And Development Agreement (LDDA) Between The City Of Oakland (City) And Oakland Civic, LLC (Oakland Civic}, And Related Documents, For Renovation And Rehabilitation Of Cityowned Property Located At 10 Tenth Street, Commonly Known As The Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Property), That (A) (I) Modifies Certain Closing Requirements, Including Eliminating Non-Binding Letters Of Intent Pre-Lease Requirement And Surety Bonds And Increasing Required Guarantor Minimum Net Worth From 25 Percent To 50 Percent, And (II) Adds Notice And Cure Rights For Tax Credit Investors; And (B) Makes Amendments To The Form Of The Lease Attached As Exhibit C To The LDDA To: (1) Revise And Insert Definitions Of Sponsorship/Donation Agreements And Naming Rights, As Applicable, And Specify When Proceeds Of Such Agreements Will Be Considered As Gross Income For Calculation Of Rent Participation; (2) Document Rights Of Oakland Civic And Calvin Simmons Theatre (CST) To Enter Into An Event Use/Sponsorship Agreement With The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (Kaiser Foundation) For A Term Of Up To 20 Years, For A Maximum Payment Of $1.5 Million To Be Used For Renovation Of The Theatre Consistent With The LDDA And Lease, And Related Documents, And (B) Authorize The City Administrator Or Designee To Negotiate And Enter Into A Recognition Agreement With Kaiser Foundation For Such Event Use/Sponsorship Agreement, Subject To Certain Termination Rights And City Protections; (3) Document Oakland Civic's Consent To The City Entering Into A Naming Rights Agreement And Related Documents With Kaiser Foundation For The Property; And (4) Make Minor Revisions To (A) Add Notice And Cure Rights For Tax Credit Investors; And (B) Correspond With The Agreed-Upon Community Benefits Agreement Between Oakland Civic, CST And Black Arts Movement And Business District Community Development Corporation
Ase Arts a small art based business calling on the Oakland City Council to pull item 2.6 20-0794 from the consent calendar and abandon the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center development contract with Orton Development. The proposed project affirms the findings of the Race and Gender Disparity Study and the Race and Equity impact study that shows a practice of inequitable development and disparity in city contracting. This project and the bidding process have been deeply flawed from the beginning, and Orton Development has continually failed to perform on key measures over the course of over five years. City staff and Council have failed to ensure accountability in the process, sufficiently inform the public on the process and disposition of public assets, or ensure significant community benefits for the broad range of stakeholders who claim the Oakland Auditorium as part of their legacy. The project proposed by Orton Development provides no benefit to the city, the residents, or the nonprofit community and will cause irreparable damage to the cultural fabric of our great city by destroying the historical use of the building and accelerating the displacement of the Black community.
It wasn't fair when the contract was originally awarded and 6 years later with scant progress, this deal is less fair! Don't give away public lands without getting significant public benefits in return! We know what those benefits could and should look like! The Kaiser Center has deep connections to our African American community - don't lock us out of the Kaiser Center's new iteration!
The CBA process specifically looked at equity policies, recommendations, and strategies the City has developed and would create an unprecedented opportunity for community access and economic development for arts organizations representing historically-underserved and at-risk communities. If passed, it would engender the formation of a community-oriented nonprofit as a producing partner, which would have the means to monetize production opportunities, stabilizing a sector which is currently at high risk of displacement and facing an uncertain economic future as income inequality continues to rise. The City of Oakland has no other currently viable mechanism for implementing the Cultural Equity called for in its 2016 Cultural Plan, and the Cultural Preservation strategies recommended in the Mayor's task Force report on artists and workspaces. The opportunity for community to program more than 100 days a year does not exist at other City-owned venues such as the Fox and Paramount. Additionally, the producing nonprofit, to be called VOICES, will be able to leverage fundraising opportunities to further subsidize cost of production -- making the goals of "low cost" and "permanent affordability" for community producers a reality. Delaying the approval could not only make rehabilitating the historic building more difficult, but could also impact the ability to proactively address historic inequity. For those reasons, I urge the Council to approve this project.
Please consider pulling item 2.6 20-0794 Subject: Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center from the consent calendar.
There are so many issues and conflicts in the current agreement. Oakland maintains a position of leadership at the center of a global racial reckoning and fight for economic and racial justice. We need a council that will fight for a vision of equity as opposed to accepting anything less than we deserve. It is time to reassess this agreement.
1. There is a deep need for dedicated, permanent and sustainable financial resources for the nonprofit arts community that the space could support. The proposed community benefits or enforceable prospects for future benefit are anemic at best. 2. This is a project with a highly questionable business model, economic fundamentals, and resiliency ina post-COVID environment.
3. There is little public facing transparency about the deal with Orton Development. The financial structure is too favorable to Orton, with little community benefit.
I'm a native deep East Oakland resident, staff of EOC, and partner of the Black Cultural Zone. As a kid, attending schools in OUSD, I would often visit the Henry J Kaiser Center for Oratorical Fest and ceremonies for student cross guards. I always enjoyed going to this grand place. I would also attend for basketball games to watch the Castlemont Knights win the OAL championships. As a current district 7 resident who frequents the entire city, I think it's absurd that this development deal as it stand does not have more tangible benefits for community and Black developers. This building has sat vacant for all this time, what is the big rush? Reconsider this deal to ensure more equity for existing BIPOC communities that have enjoyed this place their entire life.
I am a D2 resident writing in full support of the Black Cultural Zone. I urge the council to abandon the Orton project, and instead pursue equitable development and a path toward cultural reparations.
This project and the bidding process have been deeply flawed from the beginning, and Orton Development has continually failed to perform on key measures over the course of over five years. City staff and Council have failed to ensure accountability in the process, sufficiently inform the public on the process and disposition of public assets, or ensure significant community benefits for the broad range of stakeholders who claim the Oakland Auditorium as part of their legacy. The project proposed by Orton Development provides no benefit to the city, the residents, or the nonprofit community and will cause irreparable damage to the cultural fabric of our city by destroying the historical use of the building and accelerating the displacement of the Black community.
This is what disparity and inequity in contracting looks like.
The Orton project affirms the disparity highlighted in a recently released Race and Gender report and explains how this inequity has plagued Oakland for so many years. The project and council’s support for the project propagates the environment of distrust and disenfranchisement that communities of color around the world have been protesting.
Would any other developer, without political and financial ties to city government, be allowed to fail on multiple performance measures, be allowed to submit a secondary proposal after contract expiration, squat on a project for close to six years, offer nothing in return, and still have the city lead it’s financing efforts? Would a Black developer be afforded this luxury?
The project that you’ve selected and the developer offer an abysmal gesture of support for the community. The benefits agreement represents only a handful of signatories, who by their own admission, find the deal to be woefully insufficient and insulting. Far more organizations, representing many more Oakland stakeholders, also find the project and council’s support for the project, highly improper and unacceptable. Compared to the value of a 99-year lease, which could certainly be over $100 million for a more programmatically sound and viable project, the community benefits package that Councilmember Bas helped negotiate should not be considered a win.
It is absolutely imperative that Mayor Schaaf and the Oakland city council do not move forward with the Henry J. Kaiser lease agreement without the input of the larger Oakland community. There are many business owners and organizations who are in opposition to this lease agreement, and there must be more time to consider the perspectives of these community members before signing on to such a long term lease agreement. To move forward with this agreement at this time and not take pause to consider the voices of the larger Oakland community is in essence a disregard for the members of the Oakland community that have contributed to the vibrant and diverse culture that makes Oakland the city it is.
I urge the council the the mayor to reconsider this deal. This is an historic site that has been a noteworthy component of the city's cultural reports for the last 30 years. That there has not been enough time for the new cultural affairs commission to review this deal is concerning. Further, there are many businesses and community members who appear concerned the the CBAs agreement is not adequate to the value of this space. Without ample consideration for BIPOC cultural and community spaces in the midst of rampant gentrification and displacement by developers such as this, Oakland's City Council and Mayor Schaaf fail in their purported commitment to uphold racial equity in cultural development.
Dear Mayor Schaaf and Oakland City Council Member: Please do not rush the Henry J. Kaiser lease agreement. Please do NOT approve the current contract. There appears to be considerable opposition to the current lease proposal. Public input and comment must be respected and heard. Please delay a City Council decision at least three to four months to further review other proposals and hear public comments. For something as important as a 99-year lease, there needs to be a thoughtful decision-making process rather than rush to decision for such a long-term project. Thank you.
Ase Arts a small art based business calling on the Oakland City Council to pull item 2.6 20-0794 from the consent calendar and abandon the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center development contract with Orton Development. The proposed project affirms the findings of the Race and Gender Disparity Study and the Race and Equity impact study that shows a practice of inequitable development and disparity in city contracting. This project and the bidding process have been deeply flawed from the beginning, and Orton Development has continually failed to perform on key measures over the course of over five years. City staff and Council have failed to ensure accountability in the process, sufficiently inform the public on the process and disposition of public assets, or ensure significant community benefits for the broad range of stakeholders who claim the Oakland Auditorium as part of their legacy. The project proposed by Orton Development provides no benefit to the city, the residents, or the nonprofit community and will cause irreparable damage to the cultural fabric of our great city by destroying the historical use of the building and accelerating the displacement of the Black community.
It wasn't fair when the contract was originally awarded and 6 years later with scant progress, this deal is less fair! Don't give away public lands without getting significant public benefits in return! We know what those benefits could and should look like! The Kaiser Center has deep connections to our African American community - don't lock us out of the Kaiser Center's new iteration!
The CBA process specifically looked at equity policies, recommendations, and strategies the City has developed and would create an unprecedented opportunity for community access and economic development for arts organizations representing historically-underserved and at-risk communities. If passed, it would engender the formation of a community-oriented nonprofit as a producing partner, which would have the means to monetize production opportunities, stabilizing a sector which is currently at high risk of displacement and facing an uncertain economic future as income inequality continues to rise. The City of Oakland has no other currently viable mechanism for implementing the Cultural Equity called for in its 2016 Cultural Plan, and the Cultural Preservation strategies recommended in the Mayor's task Force report on artists and workspaces. The opportunity for community to program more than 100 days a year does not exist at other City-owned venues such as the Fox and Paramount. Additionally, the producing nonprofit, to be called VOICES, will be able to leverage fundraising opportunities to further subsidize cost of production -- making the goals of "low cost" and "permanent affordability" for community producers a reality. Delaying the approval could not only make rehabilitating the historic building more difficult, but could also impact the ability to proactively address historic inequity. For those reasons, I urge the Council to approve this project.
Please consider pulling item 2.6 20-0794 Subject: Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center from the consent calendar.
There are so many issues and conflicts in the current agreement. Oakland maintains a position of leadership at the center of a global racial reckoning and fight for economic and racial justice. We need a council that will fight for a vision of equity as opposed to accepting anything less than we deserve. It is time to reassess this agreement.
1. There is a deep need for dedicated, permanent and sustainable financial resources for the nonprofit arts community that the space could support. The proposed community benefits or enforceable prospects for future benefit are anemic at best. 2. This is a project with a highly questionable business model, economic fundamentals, and resiliency ina post-COVID environment.
3. There is little public facing transparency about the deal with Orton Development. The financial structure is too favorable to Orton, with little community benefit.
I'm a native deep East Oakland resident, staff of EOC, and partner of the Black Cultural Zone. As a kid, attending schools in OUSD, I would often visit the Henry J Kaiser Center for Oratorical Fest and ceremonies for student cross guards. I always enjoyed going to this grand place. I would also attend for basketball games to watch the Castlemont Knights win the OAL championships. As a current district 7 resident who frequents the entire city, I think it's absurd that this development deal as it stand does not have more tangible benefits for community and Black developers. This building has sat vacant for all this time, what is the big rush? Reconsider this deal to ensure more equity for existing BIPOC communities that have enjoyed this place their entire life.
I am a D2 resident writing in full support of the Black Cultural Zone. I urge the council to abandon the Orton project, and instead pursue equitable development and a path toward cultural reparations.
This project and the bidding process have been deeply flawed from the beginning, and Orton Development has continually failed to perform on key measures over the course of over five years. City staff and Council have failed to ensure accountability in the process, sufficiently inform the public on the process and disposition of public assets, or ensure significant community benefits for the broad range of stakeholders who claim the Oakland Auditorium as part of their legacy. The project proposed by Orton Development provides no benefit to the city, the residents, or the nonprofit community and will cause irreparable damage to the cultural fabric of our city by destroying the historical use of the building and accelerating the displacement of the Black community.
This is what disparity and inequity in contracting looks like.
The Orton project affirms the disparity highlighted in a recently released Race and Gender report and explains how this inequity has plagued Oakland for so many years. The project and council’s support for the project propagates the environment of distrust and disenfranchisement that communities of color around the world have been protesting.
Would any other developer, without political and financial ties to city government, be allowed to fail on multiple performance measures, be allowed to submit a secondary proposal after contract expiration, squat on a project for close to six years, offer nothing in return, and still have the city lead it’s financing efforts? Would a Black developer be afforded this luxury?
The project that you’ve selected and the developer offer an abysmal gesture of support for the community. The benefits agreement represents only a handful of signatories, who by their own admission, find the deal to be woefully insufficient and insulting. Far more organizations, representing many more Oakland stakeholders, also find the project and council’s support for the project, highly improper and unacceptable. Compared to the value of a 99-year lease, which could certainly be over $100 million for a more programmatically sound and viable project, the community benefits package that Councilmember Bas helped negotiate should not be considered a win.
It is absolutely imperative that Mayor Schaaf and the Oakland city council do not move forward with the Henry J. Kaiser lease agreement without the input of the larger Oakland community. There are many business owners and organizations who are in opposition to this lease agreement, and there must be more time to consider the perspectives of these community members before signing on to such a long term lease agreement. To move forward with this agreement at this time and not take pause to consider the voices of the larger Oakland community is in essence a disregard for the members of the Oakland community that have contributed to the vibrant and diverse culture that makes Oakland the city it is.
I urge the council the the mayor to reconsider this deal. This is an historic site that has been a noteworthy component of the city's cultural reports for the last 30 years. That there has not been enough time for the new cultural affairs commission to review this deal is concerning. Further, there are many businesses and community members who appear concerned the the CBAs agreement is not adequate to the value of this space. Without ample consideration for BIPOC cultural and community spaces in the midst of rampant gentrification and displacement by developers such as this, Oakland's City Council and Mayor Schaaf fail in their purported commitment to uphold racial equity in cultural development.
Dear Mayor Schaaf and Oakland City Council Member: Please do not rush the Henry J. Kaiser lease agreement. Please do NOT approve the current contract. There appears to be considerable opposition to the current lease proposal. Public input and comment must be respected and heard. Please delay a City Council decision at least three to four months to further review other proposals and hear public comments. For something as important as a 99-year lease, there needs to be a thoughtful decision-making process rather than rush to decision for such a long-term project. Thank you.