The two bidders who want to develop the Ford on Bay — the 8.4-acre, riverfront site that used to house the courthouse and city hall annex — pitched their ideas for the site Tuesday morning to the Downtown Investment Authority.
Each presenter had 45 minutes for presentations and 45 minutes for questions and answers from the scorers, which include Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer, DIA board member Ron Moody and the city's deputy chief administrative officer, Stephanie Burch.
The city received only two responses to its request for proposals, with pitches coming from New York-based Spandrel Development Partners and Miami-based The Related Group.
Spandrel has constructed a number of mixed-use developments in the downtowns of Savannah and Charleston, as well as residential projects in New York City. Related Group has constructed condo, apartment, workforce housing and mixed-use developments throughout South Florida.
Boyer attributed the low bid count to the Hyatt's having the first right of refusal to buy the Ford on Bay parcels, even after a winning bid is chosen.
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