Archive for the “Harrison Boondoggle” Category

By Jim Sack

Mitch Harper was on time, in plenty of time, but is still getting his sea-legs.

Marty Bender was mercifully silent.

Sampson and Udris were stellar.

Mrs. Brown had her attack collar on again.

Mr. Howard clarified with a smile.

Mrs. McGauley went on and on and on.

And the smell or a rat was detected. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Cue the triumphal music.

Cue the dazzling visual graphics.

Cue the montage of us out there being well coiffed reporters.

Cut to the announcer on the plexiglass set.

“I’am Biff Vacuous. Good news and bad news today about Harrison Square.

Let’s go to a snow pile near the hole that is Leatherman Park. Are you there Brian?

Yes, Biff, I am standing next to the hole, precariously close to the hole, with news that the City of Fort Wayne is itself precariously close to announcing the deal that will make the four-story 30,000 square foot Harrison a reality and cover Leatherman Park. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Wednesday, the Fort Wayne Redevelop Commission will meet. Top on the agenda will be the Harrison, the source of great frustration for the administration, its Redevelopment director Greg Leatherman, the volunteers and staff who are the RD Commission, nearly every member of city council, pundits, sages and a few thousand interested citizens. Perhaps I should add to that list of hand-wringers the principles of Hardball Capital and Barry Realty. Everybody is frustrated, angry and befuddled by this project, fingers have been pointed, blame assigned and plenty of citizens have made recommendations, some civil, as to what to do with “that hole.”

Truth is, more than anything else, the market is to blame. Wall Street, Goldman Sachs, Phil Gramm, everyone who cheated on a mortgage application, Freddie, Fannie, sleazy get-rich-quick brokers, six camels in Kuwait and me. I accept full blame. Time to move on.

But to where? Read the rest of this entry »

Ironic.

Central Atlanta Progress, in partnership with Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Atlanta, has set the line ups for the breakout panels at CAP’s Eighth Annual 2010 Downtown Development Day, which will take place Nov. 4 at AmericasMart Building 2 WestWing.

Experts from Cousins Properties, Forest City Enterprises, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Atlanta Development Authority and other esteemed companies will offer their knowledge and insight into what’s happening in Downtown. The panels will run concurrently from 10:45 a.m.-12 noon.

Panel 1 will discuss how to attract retail and residential development to Downtown.

Panelists include Jim Borders, CEO, Novare Group; Michael I. Cohn, executive vice president retail investments, leasing and asset management, Cousins Properties; Sarah Kirsch, senior principal, RCLCO; and Harvey Rudy, senior director of development, Barry Real Estate Cos. The panel will be moderated by Herman H. Howard, vice president – Atlanta regional practice leader, HOK.

The W Atlanta-Downtown hotel and condos project went back to its lender this week. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the hotel tower, which was developed by Barry Real Estate Cos. was foreclosed upon by the senior lender, a joint venture between the FDIC and Square Mile Capital Management. Barry Real Estate had ceded its ownership stake to Capri Capital Partners, the hotel’s mezzanine lender, in order to avoid foreclosure.

Barry walked away from it’s ownership in April. Makes you wonder when they’ll walk away from Fort Wayne.

By Jim Sack

Budget time again, that annual process of setting priorities and stretching pennies, has begun, Councilman Tom Smith in charge.

The administration, in the person of the chief financial officer, the controller, presented a slide show to preface the discussions and debates. It was a overview of revenues and expenses and how they have changed over the past ten to twenty years. In short, most of the city’s expenses are in personnel costs, (78%) and most of the revenue still comes (74%) from property taxes, although, as Controller Pat Roller bragged, the city over the years has developed new streams of revenue to “diversify” government resources, unlike other cities that are in much worse financial shape than Fort Wayne. She introduced a budget that is essentially flat for a city, she noted, that is physically some 38% larger than ten years ago and has 35% more roads to pave and repave and repave than years past. The number of city employees is down and costs are contained, she smiled. Read the rest of this entry »