The City of Martinsville, Virginia, is seeking proposals for the redevelopment of the building located at 1 Ellsworth Street, Martinsville Virginia, formerly by Brank Banking & Trust (BB & T). The original brick portion of the building was constructed in 1956, while the concrete architectural-paneled tower portion was built in 1973. The building is not currently in the City's historic district, but the City is currently pursuing listing the entire structure as "contributing" in its historic district. All indications are this will occur, thereby making any project potentially eligible for historic rehabilitation tax credits. The building is approximately 72,000 square feet, stands five (5) stories facing the Ellsworth Street side (6 exposed stories facing east from the rear parking lot) and has a full basement. It is considered a Type IIIA building per building regulations and is of masonry, concrete, and steel construction. At this time the building does not have a sprinkler system, but has risers in the stairwells allowing access to water should there be an emergency. The main floor of this building was formerly used for banking operations; the second floor for financial management operations, and the lower level, now vacant, was previously used as office space for a non-profit organization. Floors 3, 4, and 5, the lower level, as well as a full basement beneath the lower office level are all vacant. There are several adjoining paved parcels that provide an estimated 160 marked parking spaces for use with the building. The City has received a Virginia Brownfield Assistance Fund grant for asbestos remediation and will likely proceed with the project during the summer of 2022 The City is open to all possibilities for redevelopment of this building but is particularly interested in residential-use options on the upper floors; a mixed-use facility with combinations of lower-level commercial and upper level residential, and/or hotel options. Additionally, the City strongly believes there is unique potential for development of some form of roof-top amenity and insists potential developers address that possibility in their proposals. The City is willing to pursue available grant opportunities (DHCD IRF, for example) to complement project financials. Proposals taking advantage of low and middle-income housing tax credits for at least a portion of any residential component are encouraged. The City is open to and encourages innovative proposals, including those contemplating partnerships under the Virginia Public-Private Education and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA). AWARD OF CONTRACT: C. SELECTION PROCESS The City of Martinsville will appoint a Selection Committee to review and evaluate all SOQ's submitted by firms responding to the RFP. The proposals will be evaluated and ranked based on the Selection Criteria outlined in Section D herein. The firms will be ranked in priority order with the highest-ranking firm selected to negotiate a contract with the City. The City may ask the top ranked firms to attend a presentation/ interview as part of the evaluation process. If a contract satisfactory to both parties cannot be negotiated, the City will then enter into negotiations with the next highest-ranking firm and so on until an agreement is reached. Each responding firm will be notified of the final selection. The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.
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