Seattle gives developer in blackmail scandal 60 days to transfer contract for city plaza

Dive Brief:

Seattle’s existing $400 million Civic Square development plan might escape the fate of a casualty of an alleged political blackmail scheme if the mayor has his way, according to the Seattle Times. Although the contract expired on Dec. 31, Mayor Ed Murray has given original developer Triad Capital Partners an additional 60 days to transfer the contract to another company, saving time and money, officials say, by not having to secure new permits and design approvals.
The project, across from City Hall, was at the center of a political drama last October after a candidate for City Council alleged that a Triad executive tried to blackmail him into helping Triad settle a lawsuit. Seattle City Council candidate Jon Grant said that Brett Allen, senior vice president of Triad, asked him for help with settling a lawsuit filed against Triad by Grant's former employer in exchange for preventing the launch of a campaign against Grant’s candidacy. Triad denied any involvement in the scheme and said that it fired Allen.
Grant, who lost his race, has encouraged the mayor to scrap the existing plan and initiate a new public process to decide how the Civic Square property should be used, according to the Times. The existing plan for the now-vacant site is a $25 million public plaza and a residential tower with retail spaces.

Dive Insight:

The possibility of a development contract transfer also comes with the option of a potential payout to Triad, despite the mayor stating the company didn’t deserve to do business with Seattle.

However, Fred Podesta, director of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services, said the city might be able to improve on the original project plan as part of a transfer, including the possibility of adding affordable housing.

"We’re in discussions," Podesta told the Times. "Will everything be exactly the same or will there be changes? That’s what we’re trying to figure out. There could be renegotiation."

Adding affordable housing to the project would fit in with the mayor’s goal of creating 6,000 units of affordable housing in the city over the next decade, as well as with his desire to implement mandatory inclusionary housing for new multifamily developments. Mandatory inclusionary housing has been the source of controversy and legal action around the country, and there is a debate as to whether builders can make a profit with this kind of project.