Item 13 - Willowick Golf Course Update

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Willowick Golf Course Update September 7, 2021 Page 2 1 9 5 3 From April 29 through June 28, 2019, the City of Garden Grove, in collaboration with the City of Santa Ana, solicited proposals from qualified developers to transform and redevelop the Willowick property. A total of 12 responses to the RFP were received, including nine development proposals and three non-contingent cash offers. The Garden Grove City Council considered a ground lease with a master developer, McWhinney, on December 10, 2019. However, the consideration was continued. Due to changes in the Surplus Lands Act, the process for selecting a master developer was cancelled, and the City of Garden Grove commenced a Surplus Lands Act process for the Willowick property. Surplus Lands Act On October 9, 2019, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1486. AB 1486, which amended the Surplus Land Act effective January 1, 2020 to include, among others, changing the existing, long-standing definition of “surplus land”; providing that land shall be declared either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land” before a local agency may take any action to sell or lease land; and adding a new limitation providing that an “agency’s use” “shall not include commercial or industrial uses or activities, including nongovernmental retail, entertainment, or office development,” or “property disposed of for the sole purpose of investment or generation or revenue." To comply with the amended Surplus Land Act, the City of Garden Grove sent notices of availability to the following: local public entities and housing sponsors for the purpose of developing low- and moderate-income housing, to the City of Santa Ana and County of Orange, any regional park authority and the State Resources Agency for open-space purposes, and to the local school district for school facilities or use. Appraisal An appraisal of the property in February 24, 2021 concluded the market value of the 101.5-acre property was $90 million . This appraisal, conducted by George Hamilton Jones Inc., was completed utilizing an inspection of the property, investigation of various comparable data, market studies, and valuation analyses. The appraisal was also based on the property being subject to the Surplus Lands Act, which states that if 10 or more residential units are developed, then 15 percent of the total number of units must be dedicated to affordable housing. Current Status The City of Garden Grove received three proposals to acquire the Property through the Surplus Lands Act process: (1) Willowick Community Partners (City Ventures, Jamboree Housing, and Primestor); (2) The Trust for Public Land, State Coastal Conservancy and Clifford Beers Housing; and (3) McWhinney Land LLC and Wakeland Housing. A proposal for open space purposes and two general development proposals that include housing and commercial uses were submitted from the above development partnerships. The City of Garden Grove has posted information pertaining to the proposals and Surplus Land Act process at the following webpage: www.ggcity.org/sla.