IS IT TRUE January 23, 2013
IS IT TRUE several of our CCO downtown MOLES and the dine out allot MOLE are telling us that the old Riverhouse Hotel may be seeing some construction workers rattling its bones soon?…the brand that we hear will be associated with this old hotel will be the Comfort Inn?…the number of rooms in this new hotel should stay in the range of 90 which is just about the number of rooms one study stated downtown Evansville can absorb?…right next door the McCurdy Hotel now under new ownership may have some hammers swinging this summer as well?…the new ownership has stated plans to convert the classic downtown hotel into 90 or so luxury apartments?…Evansville may be the only city in America to have luxury apartments occupying the same block as a Comfort Inn?…even freeway off-ramps do not place luxury apartments and Comfort Inn branded motels next to each other?
IS IT TRUE that one of the tricks (SNEGAL if we may say so) that the Mole Nation tells us will be proposed is to remove the new downtown Convention Hotel from the existing downtown TIF (tax increment finance) district and place it in a stand alone TIF?…this legal maneuver will blaze the trail to return all of the tax revenue generated by the hotel/retail complex right back to cover the subsidies pledged and bonded to the developer?…such a move will remove any chance for other businesses to benefit directly from the new development?…removing this new venture from the tax roles for the foreseeable future will also raise the property taxes of homes in Pigeon Township where the hotel will be if and only if the Evansville City Council has been herded successfully to vote for the financing of any deal?…that supposes that the land unless subsidized will never see any development at all or ever be returned to the tax roll that it was on before the Weinzapfel Administration proceeded to demolish the Executive Inn with no viable plan for a replacement?
IS IT TRUE a bill that would allow the casinos to move from the boats onto land, reduce their taxes and lift game restrictions will be discussed in the Indiana Senate as early as today?… the biggest question is whether such a bill can win approval from lawmakers leery about being perceived as expanding gambling? …Indiana expects a 15 percent drop in the tax revenues from its 13 casinos, from the $614 million it collected last year to about $520 million for the 2015 budget year?…State officials blame the decline in part on the opening of new casinos in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois?…the move to being land based as opposed to maintaining a “Riverboat†is a good move that should have been the case from day one?…looking back forcing gambling into the water as opposed to right next to the water was a cowardly stupid thing to do in the first place?…in the case of Evansville with the northern border of Kentucky right on the riverbank it was even required to dig out the bank to be in Indiana?…the CCO supports land based gaming and just shakes our head in disbelief that the boat option was the path that needed to be taken to get to a more sane solution?
That is a pretty good looking Comfort Inn. I wonder if old George’s timing was perfect to shake Winnecke down for some assistance?
I talked to him several months ago, he had been planning this for quite awhile. He’s a very nice guy who was honest, open, and up front about what he was doing. I applaud his work and wish him the best with this project.
The same can not be said for Winnecke and the ERC who have hidden all renderings, all plans, and all financial data from the public from all three of their bidders. Anyone who trusts these people need to come speak with me IMMEDIATELY. I have a elevator pass for the Ford Center that they must buy.
I don’t agree with the whole “the convention center hotel is public competing with private thing” I feel like a hotel within walking range of the centre is needed although a renovation of the old ONB banking would be better. I also feel like it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the hotel ran out private hotels on the far east side although it won’t happen because it’s separate areas. That would force the city to do what Detroit has finally admitted they need to do-contract. Not to mention, the Dunns made quite a penny on that McCurdy parking lot so why isn’t that being discussed day in and day out as well?
My property taxes will go up just because I live near a hotel across the street from the Ford Center?!!!!!! I say bring in the bulldozers and level the entire neighborhood! And while the city administration is subsidizing private property they can write me a check for $500,000, because that’s what it will cost to rebuild my home outside the city limits!
The Executive Inn went broke 3 times and was closed by the Chicago Bank that was subsequently closed by the feds. This 500 room hotel was in shambles and it was not feasible to continue its operation. Weinzapfel had nothing to do with it. It is ingenuous for the CCO to continue to Blame Weinzapfel when free enterprise was at its best or worst. (However this is viewed) Blame the previous 4 or 5 owners.
We do not blame him for the failure of the hotel. We blame him and his cohorts for tearing it down without any solution in place and for grandstanding about what was nothing but a vapor hotel. He also paid way too much for the Executive Inn.
They also paid $600,000 for the small parking lot next to the McCurdy Hotel.
Evansville and Vanderburgh County subsidized the Executive on at least two occasions. One of the subsidies was in the range of $4-5 million. I don’t remember how much the prior one was.
Make anyone who demands a subsidy put a great deal of his own skin in the game. Yes, put the developers “at risk” before local government money is doled out.
Some of the local developers have been criticized, but at least they used their own money.
Do you remember the local con man who spent millions of dollars, but it was always someone else’s money.
Kunkel agreed to build a new hotel for an 8 million subsidy. If this hotel goes over 10 million in subsidy, the City Council needs to step up and oppose it. 40 million would be outrageous.
What’s amazing to me is the mentality that it’s ok to impose an Inn Keeper’s Tax on the hard working hospitality businesses of a City or County while subsidizing their competition…
Isn’t this the OPPOSITE of good, equal, transparent government? Who among us can possibly argue the contrary in any rational way?
Brad….
Evansville is just following the lead from DC…can you say redistribution, I’m sure they don’t see a problem with the concept of taking money from profitable businesses and pouring it down yet another rat hole.
JMHO
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