IS IT TRUE? November 18, 2011
IS IT TRUE that the Evansville IceMen fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last night in a home loss to the Fort Wayne Komets in front of a feisty home crowd of 2,700?…that 2,700 attendees is not quite the 3,500 budgeted for but that the average is still holding very well and it was a Thursday night?…that the weekend crowds have real potential to make up for midweek dips and that A WINNING TEAM which we have with the IceMen will fill those seats?…that despite last night’s loss that the IceMen are still in 2nd place in their division and have one less loss than the division leader?
IS IT TRUE that reading of the testimony yesterday by President Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu, that the dialog about the Solyndra loan default sounded so much like series of events that has the McCurdy Hotel in the uncertain quagmire that it is in?…that in the Evansville version of the Solyndra default that the role of President Obama has been played by outgoing Mayor Weinzapfel and the role of Secretary Chu has been played by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission?…that in both cases there was clearly a rush to make a deal without VETTING the partner or the project?…that in both cases the elected official at the top of the ticket being President Obama or Mayor Weinzapfel has received substantial campaign contributions from people involved with the deal?…that in both cases public investment was subordinated to private investment?…that in both cases the partner (Solyndra or City Centre Properties LLC) were chosen by a high ranking elected official?…that in both cases negative news was delayed until after an election?…that in the case of Solyndra the people’s money and assets were lost?…that the jury is still out on the McCurdy but the fact that the recent tax bill has been declared to be in default surely makes it look like Evansville is on a collision course with a Solyndra moment of its own?
IS IT TRUE that in today’s Wall Street Journal there is an article about Fort Smith, Arkansas and what they are planning to do to fill the1,000 person job vacuum that well be created when our old friend Whirlpool closes their refrigerator plant in the Summer of 2012?…that this article was truly a déjà vu moment to read?…that Fort Smith is planning to fall back on health care and tourism to try to fill the voids?…that there were also discussions about local suppliers of plastic parts that were dependent on Whirlpool that will struggle to survive?…that all that was needed to make this Evansville’s story is to change the name and the date?…that there was one big difference?…that the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce stated in the article that they have a $2.2 Million fund on hand to encourage new businesses?…that the CCO does not have any knowledge of such a fund being available in Evansville by the Chamber, the City Government, or even the County Government?
IS IT TRUE that we had funds but a large number of those dollars were used to build some Front Door Pride houses that are still languishing on the market at prices that are roughly $100,000 per house less than they cost to put there?…that if the Fort Smith can learn anything from Evansville it should be “DO NOT SQUANDER FUNDS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED FOR BUSINESS TO BUILD HOUSESâ€?…that unlike Evansville, Fort Smith does have a growing population growing from 53,000 to 86,209 since 1960 during which Evansville shrunk from 141.543 to 117,429?…that at these growth and loss rates Fort Smith will pass Evansville in population in the year 2,038 when both cities will have a population of 101,819?…that this projection is based on a 50 year history but can change if Evansville changes its ways to promote job growth in the private sector?…that Mayor Elect Winnecke has some of the right ideas in his plan like establishing both Angel and Venture investment vehicles, leveraging the GAGE Technology Transfer agreement, and promoting existing businesses?…that these are difficult tasks to achieve but that if Mayor Elect Winnecke pulls these things off he may just reverse a 50 year exodus of our young educated professionals and keep a few of the old heads that still have some fight left in them from vacating Evansville for the beach?
So the parking lot of a potential hotel is worth 600 grand and an existing hotel, down the street, is only worth 325 ?
Is that right? Can that be?
The free market is truly ruthless. It is only when government gets involved that a $603k parking lot can sit next to a $350k hotel.
The $350k was the maximum value on the day of the auction as the $125k was for the parking lot. That was the free market at work.
The $603k was the hand of government stirring the pot of the free market.
The City and ERC’s gross incompetence in the McCurdy fiasco over the past 4 years is one of the saddest scandals in the history of Evansville. This background shows how the clueless City and their clueless ERC bungled this project from the beginning. The City and their ERC have refused to ever consider they had been duped by the developer, and most amazingly they have no, none, zero backup plans. The once proud historical McCurdy Hotel building sits rotting away before out eyes, while the City and their ERC’s gross incompetence continues unabated.
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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/oct/07/mccurdyparking-pricing/
“Dunn paid $125,000 for the property, according to the Vanderburgh County assessor’s Web site. Old National Bank acquired the parking lot as a result of a default on a loan and sold it to Dunn to satisfy part of the debt, bank spokeswoman Kathy Schoettlin said.
Dunn said the parking lot is the last piece of undeveloped riverfront property Downtown. He planned to build high rise condominiums there until the city expressed interest in buying the lot for the McCurdy.
Goldman said Dunn wouldn’t negotiate, and the city was “between a rock and a hard place here … because the McCurdy hotel development is so important to the Downtown Evansville redevelopment in general.”
Dunn was “certainly entitled to a profit,” Goldman said, “but it seems to me that the city is being forced to pay way too much money.”
The McCurdy renovations are scheduled to be finished by the end of next year. Plans are to develop more than 80 upper-end apartments and commercial space.
“Without (the parking), the project would not happen,” Weinzapfel said.”
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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/oct/09/mccurdy-deal-defended-mayor-developer-say-needed/
“Last week, the Evansville Redevelopment Commission approved a resolution to purchase the parking lot adjacent to the McCurdy for $603,000, an amount that Commission president Bob Goldman said left a bad taste in his mouth.
Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel defended the commission’s decision, saying it was the only viable option to provide parking at the McCurdy.”
….
“”In the overall scheme of things, when you’re looking at an $8.2 million investment, the fact that you’re adding (at least 80) housing units in Downtown Evansville — it was a price we were willing to pay to make sure this deal was going to happen,” Weinzapfel said.
According to the Vanderburgh County assessor’s office, Dunn purchased the parking lot from Old National Bank in 2005 for $125,000. Old National Bank acquired the parking lot from Jaques Miller Healthcare Properties in 2002 as a result of a default on a loan. The bank then sold it to Dunn to satisfy part of the debt.”
…
“City Council candidate Andrew Smith, a Republican at-large, said Monday the city’s decision to buy the property “fundamentally calls into question the transparency and accountability of the redevelopment commission … the complaint seems to be that they had to pay too much money for this, but they have only themselves to blame for that because of the way that they went about putting together this deal.
“If they had done the smart thing and tried to acquire these parcels together before announcing the project, then they would have had more bargaining leverage. Instead, in a rush to make an announcement about Downtown development, they seem to be engaging in the kind of fiscal mismanagement that I think has typified this administration.”
Weinzapfel dismissed that suggestion, saying the realtor representing the city who approached Dunn about buying the parking lot did not tell him who he represented.
Smith sent a letter Monday to Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter, asking his office to investigate the details of the transaction history of the parking lot.
After reviewing the letter, Weinzapfel said: “If (Smith) wants to have a policy discussion about whether we should encourage Downtown development, whether that is important to this community, whether we should incentivize residential housing construction — that is another point worth having a discussion about. But that’s not what he’s doing here.”
Weinzapfel said the McCurdy renovation is a “great project” and a building that, because of the operational costs of sustaining it, was at risk of becoming vacant before the city and Scott-Hilliard-Kosene reached a deal to redevelop it. “That would (have been) the worst thing that could have happened,” he said.”
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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/aug/13/developer-says-paperwork-only-obstacle-starting-mc/
“At the same May meeting, Redevelopment Commission members also decided to extend the deadline by which Scott and City Centre Properties had to show “substantial completion†of the construction needed in the McCurdy project. The deadline was originally to come 18 months after the company’s purchase of the McCurdy building, which occurred in Nov. 2008.
If the construction requirement hadn’t been met by May, the Redevelopment Commission could have declared City Centre to be in default of a development agreement signed with the city nearly 2 1/2 years earlier. In that event, the city could have made a claim on a promissory note and got back the $800,000 in public grants already given in return for City Centre’s promise to open at least 80 apartments within the former McCurdy hotel.
Rather than declare City Centre in default, Redevelopment Commission members decided to extend the company’s deadline by a year, allowing it until May 2011 to show substantial completion of the needed construction. Scott said he feels confident that he now has enough time to meet the requirements.
Bob Goldman, Redevelopment Commission president, said he is willing to be patient.
“I think it’s really important for that edifice to be restored,†he said. “It does have a such a prominent place on riverside and it has such a wonderful history.—
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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/dec/23/mccurdy-progress-promised/
“Scott announced his plans for the project in 2007, predicting that the renovation would be completed by the end of the following year.
Although progress has been slow from the start, City Centre managed in 2008 to both buy the building and enter into a development agreement with the city of Evansville. But delays have been the norm ever since.
Scott, who couldn’t be reached for this article, has repeatedly blamed the slow pace of the project on the recent recession, which he said has dampened lenders’ willingness to make loans for commercial construction.
Bob Goldman, president of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission, wondered what assurance Scott had offered about a start date.
“Do we have any reason to think he is going to make any more progress than he said he would a year ago or six months ago?” Goldman said.”
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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/oct/04/mccurdy-developer-granted-project-extension/
“On Sept. 20, Scott declined to be interviewed in the presence of TV media, telling reporters he would rather be able to also disclose artwork of his plans for the hotel. He provided no plans to commissioners or media during the Tuesday meeting, nor did he return phone calls seeking comment.
City Centre acquired the old hotel in 2007, which once was known as one of the fanciest on the Ohio River and featured opulent dining and a lavish lobby and a long list of famous guests. Over the proceeding four years, Scott repeatedly told Redevelopment Commission efforts to finance the rebirth of the hotel were saddled by miserable economic conditions that made it tough to get loans.
The Redevelopment Commission also threw in $800,000 grants in return for a pledge to open a minimum of 80 apartments there. That amount can rise by $10,000 for each additional apartment up to a limit of $960,000.
The City Council also granted a tax abatement that lowers the amount of taxes owed on the building for about 10 years. And the Redevelopment Commission agreed to buy a parking lot adjacent to the McCurdy for about $500,000.”
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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/nov/01/no-headline—ev_mccurdy/
“Redevelopment Commission President Bob Goldman said the reassurance from Salmon that the lenders were interested in the deal warranted a fourth extension to Nov. 30. Goldman said he was told by Salmon the lenders should be prepared to close by then.
Along with the encouraging news of the financing for the project, Goldman said no other developers have come forward with ideas.
“We’ve got nothing else, so we’re choosing to ride this one out,” Goldman said.”
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Hey Joe,
I had to read your post three times to fully understand it……Guess I’m just dense!
Great job!
Andymic, thanks bro. This debacle has lasted so long its easy to forget the whole story. Complete clusterf**** in my opinon.
Once the newness of the Icemen wares off watch the attendence numbers level off at about 1500 a night and that is not going to pay for this boondoggle. Watch for the tax increases in the near future that will be needed to suppurt the John and the Centre. Thanks for legacy King John!!
rk, The Centre’s losses (over $ 7 Million since its opening in 2003) are already being funded by taxpayer dollars every year (never a profitable year).
Oh but once we invest another $20-50m of taxpayers money on a adjacent hotel and reconnect that skywalk the money will start pouring in….not!
JMHO
blanger, You need to realize that Old Downtown is the Center of The Universe for the pseudo-intelligentsia of Evansville, and Evansville’s resources (tax moneys) will continue to flow there til hell freezes over, these smug elitests die off, or, they are the last ones left to turn off the lights.
LOL…I understand where your coming from Crash, I worked downtown in the early 70’s and have fond memories of downtown from when I was a kid, problem is downtown will never be what it once was no matter how much money they pour into it, the politicians need to see/understand this. They don’t and the bottomless pit of federal grant monies for economic development is the root cause IMHO, if they had to use local funds many of their projects would never happen.
JMHO
CCO: re: 2nd paragraph (McCurdy/Centre City): please file a FOIA request on the ERC’s attorney’s phone bill for proof that he actually called the unnamed lender; whose interest in the deal merited a 30 days extension to November 30th; which happened to be on the back side of the election
Yada, excellent suggestion in the continuing City/ERC McCurdy fiasco.
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