UPDATE: So now everyone is back peddling like crazy. Village on the River went over to the ‘Safe Room’ to tell their side of the story to a content marketing website. I’m actually surprised they didn’t take out some google ads. But even if the deal is to be saved, it’s NOT going to turn out well for the taxpayers;
“Adjustments to the design and size of the hotel/retail structure have been analyzed by the project team to ensure that it is the best possible project,†Village River Group said in a statement.
“Once approved by the city, the group will finalize the design details and related construction, architecture and bond requirements and move forward with construction.â€
Here lies the problem, the design was ALREADY approved, heck, the most important part, the parking structure and it’s foundation is near completion. Shouldn’t these design changes have taken place before ground was even broken? It would be like building a one-story house and telling your builder after he finishes the roof that you want a second floor. But besides over building the foundation (which taxpayers put in around $6 million for) they want an even bigger incentive;
Village River Group has looked at multiple funding options to offset its private investment, it said. That included use of city tax increment financing and new market tax credits, but those incentives “did not materialize,†it said.
So now that is the fault of the city and taxpayers who upheld their part of the deal?
The project is planned to be funded privately, and “the city has offered the project BID tax rebate incentives and a real estate tax reduction incentive,†Village River Group said.
How is this any different then a TIF? It isn’t, it’s just packaged differently. More HUGE tax breaks and developer welfare for a project that now is smaller? You have got to be F’ing kidding me!
According to its development agreement with the city, a second development fee payment and performance bond are due to the city when phase one of the private improvements begin, the developers said.
Here is a link to several blog posts about this topic; LINK.
From the beginning, the warning signs were there;
Bad location
Not enough spaces
Expensive spaces (to offset foundation costs)
Using 2nd Penny as collateral
Investing with a developer (still) being investigated by the Feds for the Copper Lounge collapse
And now we have a whole new set of problems;
However, the city says a start-date for construction on the private portion of the project hasn’t been determined. That’s because the city has yet to receive proof of a performance bond and a $350,000 fee spelled out in the development agreement.
City officials repeatedly did not answer whether the developers are in default of their contract on the project.
I find it ironic, that a former city councilor who supported this project would be chastising councilor Stehly for being negative when she was virtually a one-person army fighting this project. The height of negativity would be supporting this ignoramus project.
On top of all this, it seems the city council will be appropriating another $50K in legal fees for the project Tuesday night in the contract approvals.
I often talk about ‘common sense’ government. Nothing about this project made any sense, and at the end of the day the citizens may be holding the bag. I think any current city councilor that voted for this project should resign in shame. It’s one thing to make a bad decision (like voting against a movie theater beer license or approving ax throwing in bars) but this decision by a majority of councilors and BOTH mayors to move forward is beyond a ‘bad decision’ – it’s gross negligence and they should be removed from office.