Commissioners endorse notice of intent to seek bonds for Pontiac redevelopment project

Oakland County staff on Wednesday asked the Board of Commissioners to allow publication of a notice of intent to issue capital improvement bonds to finance work for the Pontiac redevelopment project, which centers on the 31 East Judson building and two multilevel parking decks.

Sean Carlson, deputy county executive, told the committee the project team expects Judson to begin issuing building permits for site and envelope work soon and described a construction schedule that targets completion milestones for parking decks and Judson. Carlson said the north parking deck is currently planned for about 429 spaces (roughly 90 spaces per floor) with potential to add two levels, and the south deck is planned for about 610 spaces across seven levels; Judson'related envelope and site work will proceed on the schedule shared in the packet. Carlson also said solar panels are planned for the 31 East Judson rooftop.

Carlson reviewed procurement work on multiple bid packages, noting award decisions that favored Oakland County'based and Southeast Michigan contractors, HUBZone participation and union labor, and significant estimated savings on several packages compared with the team's estimates. He said the county is working with construction manager Granger to advance small-business mentorship and to set aside capital for microbusiness participation in concrete, general trades and drywall categories.

Commissioners asked technical questions about the Bridal lot (an adjacent parcel identified as a placeholder for future development), accessible parking and the cost implications of EV charging in enclosed parking decks. Carlson said the building-coded requirement for fire suppression tied to charger infrastructure adds about $1,250,000 per deck in scope because enclosed decks need sprinkler systems to mitigate EV fire risk; he also described street-level charger and food-truck power options being discussed with the city of Pontiac.

Brian Loeffler, the county finance lead on the project, described the financing team and the RFQ process for underwriters and construction lenders. He said the county received multiple responses and is recommending senior managing underwriters to help structure bond sales and potential construction loans. Loeffler explained the notice-of-intent step is required to publish the county's intent and begin the statutory 45-day waiting period before a subsequent bond-authorizing resolution is considered.

The committee moved to recommend the notice of intent to the full board; the committee record showed the motion carried and the matter will be forwarded to the board for formal bond authorization consideration.

Votes and formal motions recorded in committee documents noted the committee's recommendation to publish a notice of intent for capital improvement bonds to finance the Pontiac redevelopment project. The committee vote on the recommendation was recorded in the meeting as carried and will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for final action.

The presentation materials, bid-package breakdown and procurement outreach plans were provided as part of the meeting packet.