Semi-annual report on Elk Grove mayor, city council's Priority Projects omit Project Elevate failure

Elk Grove city employee Christopher Jordan did not include the termination of negotiations for the city's ballyhooed Project Elevate in his priority project update. |  

A report to the public, Elk Grove mayor, and city council on the elected officials' priority projects delivered at last night's meeting was significant for what was unreported.  

Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her city council received the semi-annual report on their priority projects. City staff member Mr. Christopher Jordan provided the report. 

While Jordan highlighted projects that have advanced, like the relocation of the Sacramento Zoo to Elk Grove, he omitted reporting on a project of great significance - Project Elevate. The proposed multi-million dollar mixed-use project is the priority project on which the public, the mayor, and the city council did not receive a verbal report.

Project Elevate is planned for a 20-acre taxpayer-owned parcel on Elk Grove Boulevard. Amidst a media blitz by the city, last August, Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her city council directed city manager Jason Behrmann to enter a six-month exclusive negotiation agreement with internationally renowned real estate developer Houston-based Hines Interest. 

The ENA was terminated in May by Hines Interest. Berhmann reported the failure in an announcement buried on the city website but failed to mention it during any of his city council meeting administrative verbal presentations included in every city council meeting. 

As the city manager did during his presentation to the public, the mayor, and the city council, Mr. Jordan did not mention the collapse and termination of negotiations. Instead, Jordan provided updates on the zoo relocation, developments in Historic Downtown Elk Grove, the Measure E multi-million regressive tax hike, the Kammerer Road urban design study, and the placement of the electric vehicle charging stations. 

While Jordan did not breach the Project Elevate negotiations collapse in his public presentation, like Behrmann, he buried it in his department's written report (see page 4, item C3). Behrmann and Jordan noted the city is working to identify a partner who, as Berhmann wrote, would build Project Elevate "in a manner that preserves the vision for the site." 

For those interested, Jordan's entire report can be seen in the video. There was no public comment, and the mayor and her city council had no questions about the update; however, the city council displayed improved decorum when addressing Mr. Jordan. 

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