The relocation of Greyhound almost derailed Allan Norville's acquisition of the Arena Site until Rio Nuevo stepped in and offered to locate, acquire and build a new Greyhound bus terminal. As a result of the Board's efforts, Mr. Norville is now in the process of improving the Arena Site and his adjacent parcel with new exhibition space, a new 4-star hotel and parking for this developing area.
In other action, the Board instructed its counsel and Mr. Norville's counsel that the final terms of the District's agreement to reimburse Mr. Norville for the Granada watershed improvement must be limited to actual costs incurred and paid. Previously the Board agreed to reimburse Mr. Norville for 62% of the appropriate costs or $855,000, whichever is less. Citing difficulties with allocations and accounting, Mr. Norville had sought to base the reimbursement on estimated rather than actual costs.
The Board also announced it will submit a formal proposal to the City to take over the development of the Gadsden project, west of the I-10 freeway. Currently the City has the right to collect on the developer's performance bonds due to the developer's inability to meet agreed-upon time frames.