CRA approves $3.5M for Urban Reworx development; agreement includes expedited-payout option tied to construction performance

The CRA board approved a funding agreement to provide $3.5 million in CRA funds to Urban Reworx for a housing project; Housing Department funding of $750,000 was described as part of a combined $4.25 million public contribution toward a total project cost of $9.4 million. The agreement was presented to the board as a walk-on item after negotiations among staff and the developer concluded and the developer signed the draft agreement before the meeting.

Pat Bereday, representing Urban Reworx, said his team is ready to break ground and requested timely access to the full allocation so the project’s construction lender has assurance of funding. "We are ready to break ground as soon as it coincides with your schedule," Bereday said, and added that the applicant expects a 12- to 15-month construction timeline and therefore prefers a two-year payout schedule aligned with construction draws. Parks and staff explained that the program’s standard terms were three years to allow multiple projects to be funded from the same line item and to manage CRA obligations across several applicants; staff also said the executed agreement includes a process to return to the board to accelerate payments if the developer demonstrates performance sufficient to justify expedited disbursement.

Board members debated the budgetary trade-offs of a two-year accelerated payout versus a three-year term that would allow the CRA to fund multiple smaller projects. Cliff Shepard, CRA counsel, noted the agreement includes an alternative payment schedule and that any expedited payout would still require board action returning to the CRA for authorization based on documented performance. Director Cedric McCray said staff will encumber the funds and monitor construction progress; if the developer performs, staff will bring a request to accelerate payments.

The board then voted to approve the signed agreement; the record shows the board understood the standard three-year encumbrance and the agreement’s performance-based mechanism to accelerate disbursement.