THE TIME OF RECKONING HAS PASSED: Public Money Demands Public Disclosure

IS IT TRUE that the time of reckoning has passed on two critical projects …Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel committed public money to assist outside developers in renovating both the historical McCurdy Hotel condo project and the Executive Inn project? …that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission recently gave both project developers 60 days to get their financial situations in order? …that the 60 days are behind us? …that it is time for Mayor Weinzapfel, the Chairman of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission and Tom Barnett, Director of the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development, to call a joint news conference to announce the status of both projects? …that it is time for the laid-back, conservative, hardworking and dedicated Evansville taxpayers to demand accountability on the status of the above projects? …that if there were favorable deals on the table that the announcements would have already have drawn headlines?….that public money demands public disclosure?…..that no public disclosure has been made since the 60 days extension as granted by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission has lapsed for both projects? …… that the government of Evansville has a legal responsibility to disclose the status of these critical projects?

Excerpts and Updates from a Summer of Accountability

By the City-County Observer staff:

There are two construction projects going on in Evansville that are absolutely vital to the viability of the downtown as a place to go for entertainment and sustainable living. Both projects are now stymied by the failure of certain developers to obtain financing to begin their projects. Here is an overview of these two projects that are both now beyond the 60 day extensions granted by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission for disclosing their sources of financing and set a date to begin both projects..

Arena/Centre Hotel: The looming shell of the south wing of the former Executive Inn begs the question: Will the existing hotel be renovated – and if so, when – or will the Big E and the adjacent parking garage be demolished. It is rumored that the hotel and the parking garage are destined for the wrecking ball due to structural problems. Rumor has it that Browning Investments may not be successful in obtaining financing to complete the hotel project, and that they could basically leave town with an extra $300,000 golden parachute for this failure.

The City-County Observer is extremely concerned about the future of the Arena and The Centre without a convention class hotel in place to accommodate the thousands of out-of-town visitors that always come to town for such events. As you may remember, in 2007 at a fanfare news conference, Mayor Weinzapfel announced a 4-Star branded hotel with a luxury restaurant as a keystone anchoring the Centre and the new Arena as the place to be for regional entertainment. Are there any cities with an Arena and a Convention Center that function without a hotel? Let’s cross our fingers that Evansville does not become the first city in America to have two state-of-the-art venues (the new Arena and The Centre) separated by a rotting shell of a dilapidated hotel. Proceeding with the demolition of the Executive Inn and the construction of an Arena without having the financing in place for a new hotel was a financial tragedy that should never have been allowed to go forward. With all of the bankers and financially sophisticated people on the Evansville Redevelopment Commission, it is baffling how approval to go forward with the Arena was granted for less than a complete financial solution in place. This oversight is the equivalent of building a house in the country without securing financing for a septic system or a road to get to the house. One thing is certain, if there is no hotel where the rotting shell now stands, the financial performance of both the new Arena and the Centre will suffer.

McCurdy: As successful as the loft program seems to have allegedly been in creating approximately 100 residential dwellings on Main Street, the McCurdy condo project has been stalled for the past couple of years for lack of financing. Estimates for completing the proposed 80 rental units are below the market rate for refurbishing that building. Presently the McCurdy sits empty with windows open, making it a home to pigeons and bats. Speculation is that it will soon look like its next-door neighbor, The River House. In our opinion the McCurdy will become the next River House if the financing to begin construction is not secured right now. It is also important to point out that the City and the Redevelopment Commission has put out hundreds of thousands of dollars on this project to date without tangible results.

As the demographics of downtown Evansville are not sufficient to attract a grocery store, a hardware store, or a gas station, these new units are vital to getting the population of downtown to a point where sustainable urban living is possible. Even these units are not sufficient to get the numbers in place but the continuation of the repopulation of downtown Evansville must continue.

The rush to begin the arena was to create a photo-op opening that would coincide with the kick off of the campaign for the statewide democratic primary election of 2012. That photo will not be so flattering with the Big E in its current state in the background. The hotel was to be the only building in the entertainment complex that actually stayed on the tax role. A hotel is also expected to provide significant revenue to the TIF district that is being counted on to pay the interest on the bonds issued to build the Arena.

As the old saying goes, “it is time to perform or get off the pot”. What is the next plan? Will there be another 60 days of extension or will there be a search for another developer? There is no extension on when the public should be made aware of the status of these projects. That time is now!!

If you too would like to send a message to the officials who must certainly have those answers please direct them to the email addresses of Mayor Weinzapfel (jweinzapfel@evansvillegis.com) and Tom Barnett. (tbbarnett@evansvilledmd.com)