The City County Observer has learned through it newest addition Mole #7 and has confirmed through Mole #44 that the Riverhouse property has a contract that has been signed on it and that the buyer is a developer who has every intention to utilized the property to create a river front hotel with between 125 and 150 rooms.
The Riverhouse has been in disrepair for many years and recently only drew bids of $350,000 at auction and opted to remain on the market to wait for a better offer. The terms of the contract have not been disclosed but the property has been listed by Woodward Commercial Realty for $1.25 Million.
The property that consists of two tracts is currently owned by Centra Credit Union of Columbus, IN and is assessed at a total of $760,000.
The Riverhouse which is the next door neighbor to the McCurdy Hotel that was just declared delinquent on their recent real estate tax bill of $10,782.69 and assessed a 5% penalty of $539.13 and has been the subject of much controversy of the three year ordeal that its owner City Centre Properties LLC has gone through seeking financing to convert it to 90 luxury apartments.
The Evansville Redevelopment Commission is meeting in a private executive session today to hear the Vetting report of Hunden Strategic Partners with respect to the downtown Convention Hotel that has been planned for the MLK Entertainment Complex for three years now. That hotel project has been through several false starts due to difficulties with financing and weakness of the chosen companies. The ERC commissioned an extensive vetting process to be done by Hunden Strategic Partners on proposals from Prime Lodging and the Kunkel Group to avoid another false start. The results of that vetting procedure may be released today.
The grossly incompetent bungling ERC/City that mishandled the historic McCurdy project for 4 years, is now vetting the Executive Inn project after 2 failed attempts. What could possible go wrong given their track record??
Would this not make more sense to buy the River House for appraised value (if possible), and dump $5-$10M (heck even $20M) into it, build a parking garage on the site of the old Big E parking garage (Yea I know they should have left it standing)of course then you have a elevated walkway from the Centre to nowhere (rip it out and sell it for scrap).
Discounting the parking garage your still in way under the cost of a new hotel, shuttle service/limo/taxi/bus service to the arena/centre would make it very doable, and it’s a similar walk to the River House as it is to the back 40, maybe another block or so.
JMHO
I’m hearing it is Kunkel that bought the Riverhouse
Then it’s a lateral move because they failed to pass the vetting process (I’m guessing) for a new hotel, which I’d guess given the length of time the vetting process has taken (trips to the moon were quicker) that both of the bidders failed….but again I’m just guessin’ 😉
JMHO
I’m guessing that as well but they would have to of known that for some time because you just don’t buy that overnight.
Another guess…..
Kunkle knew going into the vetting process that they couldn’t pass the test, probably had a good idea (or inside information) that the other bidder would not pass or that chances were slim, so they went to plan B early on.
Interesting fact is the River House originally called the Jackson House was designed and built by Jack Kinkle.(sp) Kinkle-Kunkle kinda’ odd coincidence. :0
JMHO
My source tell’s me they will demo it
Besides there being little need for more rooms, it’s the wrong location for a hotel to begin with. Too far from District. Too far from Centre. Who would book there? A Shriner’s convention or if Thunder brings back the hydros? Ain’t happening.
Not to be argumentative but if there isn’t a need for more rooms…why are we considering building a hotel close to the arena? …if it’s too far from the “district” then so is the McCurdy, so is Aztar, so is the back 40, so is the arts district, it goes on and on…are we trying to revitalize downtown or just the main street?
JMHO
When I said there is no need for more rooms, I included the hotel to be built adjacent to the Ford and the Centre in the room count. That is a given. There has to be a convention center hotel adjacent to the Ford and the Centre to complete the package. Any fool knows that! It’s a given. Your idea about the Riverhouse Hotel serving as that convention center hotel is rediculous. A shuttle? Give me a break. Any fool knows the convention center hotel must be attached by a skywalk to the Centre. Get real, Mr. Businessman!
LOL….you need to either say what you mean or mean what you say, it rather hard to follow your thought process via the internet.
So ‘ol intelligent one enlighten us about why the Kunkle group would want the River House? more luxury apartment?
JMHO
I have no idea why Kunkle wants it. Ask them not me. I know what I’d do with it if I were DMD director, but I’ll pass that along to Tom Barnett and see what he thinks of the idea.
But really, man, doesn’t any fool know that the Centre, as a convention center, depends on a convention hotel attached? Really. I mean vendors have to have lodging within two or three corridors, NOT SIX BLOCKS, walking distance to transport their displays, tend to their kiosks, and entertain customers in nearby suites.
Any fool knows the hotel has to be where the Exec once stood. If you can’t make that connection, you’re no businessman at all.
Okay, okay, before you go and act stupid again, “where the Exec parking garage once stood.” Is that more exactly correct for you?
So we have a convention center? have we ever had a convention downtown that utilized the centre?..funny thing I was in California a few years ago attending a convention in San Diego, their convention center has no hotel attached, in fact the closest hotel was more then 6 blocks away…seemed to work out fine since they had over 30k visitors in a little over 48 hrs, we stayed in the gas light district and drove to the convention every day….wasn’t a big deal and was a great experience.
It’s really a matter of conception, perception, and short sightedness to believe that a hotel has to be withing 500ft of a convention location for the venue to be a success.
I could tell you about a convention in Dayton I attended every year that we stay a half hour away, again no hotel close enough to sling a cat at at that venue either yet it is very successful.
If the downtown is to be reborn it will require a vision and not tunnel vision looking at a 4 block corridor.
JMHO
Gosh, you should’ve applied for that previously vacant convention and visitor’s bureau director’s job!
LOL I’m not really qualified for either position…. Obviously the city has had a problem finding qualified personnel for almost every vacancy created but are willing to settle for mediocre or lackluster performance as long as they pay tribute to the machine. 😉
JMHO
Well then maybe you DO qualify!
The question is really not about qualifications, it’s more could a unqualified person do a worse job than the people the city hires who are supposedly the “right fit” (qualified) for the job?
Patronage would seem to be the deciding factor in any city position even though we supposedly threw out the political patronage system years ago in favor of a merit system…the operative word here is merit, as in what type of merit and who decides whom is rewarded based on their merit? It’s just political patronage with a PC name…same rules to play or pay.
JMHO
If true, it’s a brilliant move by Kunkle. The City’s rubber stamp ERC will likely repeat history and quickly buy it for almost 5 times what was paid, so the ERC can keep it from competing with their “replacement” hotel for the Executive Inn. Keep up the great work ERC!!
—-
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/oct/07/mccurdyparking-pricing/
“Last Tuesday, the Evansville Redevelopment Commission approved a resolution to do that. The city paid $603,000 for the lot after the commission offered $447,500, a price based on two independent appraisals that placed the property’s value at $508,200.
The appraisal was done in March 2006, according to property records.
Commission president Bob Goldman said the purchase left a bad taste in his mouth.
The property was owned by Safe-On-First, LLC. John M. Dunn, chairman and chief executive officer of Dunn Hospitality, said he created the firm to buy the parking lot from Old National Bank in April 2005.
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.””
—
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/oct/09/mccurdy-deal-defended-mayor-developer-say-needed/
“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.
The parking lot was assessed in March 2006 by the Pigeon Township assessor’s office for $508,200.
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.””
Dunn was still on ONB’s Board in 2005, was he not?
__
I may be wrong about Kunkle, sorry
The stink just goes on and on. Dunn’s finger in every pie. Old National somehow “helping” the deals. And our city government too slow to get it. Should they be transparent and get kicked in the teeth or or just hold back a little and protect our tax money? Let’s all vote on that.
Weinzapfel Administration + Redevelopment Commission = The most incredibly stupid combination possible
Yes!! Amen and ditto. A 6th grade class without teacher assistance could have made better decisions. Clueless lead by clueless.
BTW, the poll is a hoot. As if there is a dimes worth of difference between Weinzapfel and Winnecke. The tax dollars will continue to be shoveled out the backdoor faster than they come in the front.
__
Gotta give you an AMEN on that!!!!
Comments are closed.