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?

Well, the contract says that Barry Realty/Hardball has to start paying damages due to their failure to deliver, if, they are to retain the option to build. That will probably be part of the announcement. I guess that Barry still sees this as a good deal, still wants to invest here, still has drawings on the table, especially with the unexpected (by many) galloping success of the adjacent ball park. And, I guess that the City still wants to work with Barry for a variety of reasons, mostly under the heading of not changing horse in mid-stream and partially because there is no other horse at the moment to climb upon. Splash. Perhaps the extended Barry/City deal will involve the $5,000 per day damages payment from Barry/Hardball to the City as stipulated. Perhaps not. We shall see. I think the City, Mr. Leatherman and the Redevelopment Commission (even City Council) want the building much more than the $5k per day in damages, and see the ongoing relationship with Barry yielding substantially more than the fines ever could.

Here is the key question: what do we as a community want?

If we want to bitch and moan and continue to point fingers then by all means have at. I doubt, however, that we really want to waste the work that has gone into the project to date.

I want the building in the air and active. I want a vibrant downtown with busy people scurrying about doing business and making money. I want more attractions, fewer parking lots and a night life. I want a downtown that is active past 5:15pm, one in which new buildings are on the tax rolls and old ones are fetching higher prices. I want restaurants that are packed, events that sell out and surrounding neighborhoods where houses are cheerily maintained by the owners who work in the buildings downtown.

That’s my vision. Blink.

So, I want the Harrison and the two promised developments south of the ball park near the old train station to be built.

I am willing to wait longer for that result. Patience, Little Grasshopper.

A year ago a dear friend of mine at Tower Bank encouraged me to apply for a refinance of my home loan. I did. Hither-to-fore, I was courted by bankers, but he, upon seeking my paperwork turned me down. My 800 credit score, my unblemished record of payment, my steady income and plentiful assets no longer mattered. Any flag other than bright white was grounds for denial. Most people or businesses met the same fate. I laughed with my friend, went home and contemplated the effect on the community. The Harrison has suffered, more than anything else, from that market in which bankers who could sit on money and make more on the spread than through community investing, in which new regulations demanded a great capital reserve and in which trust had evaporated.

Things are actually looking up. Really. Seriously. The stock market, for those of you who do not hold shares, is rapidly coming back, investors are peeking out of their bomb shelters and fat-cat capital is beginning to loosen. The Great Recession thwarted the Harrison, the Sluggish Recovery is about to carefully invest in the Harrison. Here’s to a brewpub, even if Scotty can’t get it together. (Maybe I should reapply for the loan.)

Bankers, not the mayor, not Greg Leatherman, not Hardball, not Barry, not those five camels in Kuwait, are responsible for the project remaining a gapping hole. Bankers may finally be lined up like Jupiter and Mars.

I believe on Wednesday Mr. Leatherman will have better news, if not good news, to offer and will announce steps that lead toward completion of the project. Tea leaves seem to suggest it. It is in our best interest for this building to be built and join the tax rolls, better than more finger pointing, more than more jokes about what to do with the hole. This is about a better Fort Wayne, so I am pulling for the Redevelopment Commission’s success in finalizing this deal.

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Bingo.

Saturday, in the News-Sentinel Kevin Leininger pretty much nailed the issue of Harrison Square. It is worth the $.50 at a news stand near you to read what he has to say. Buy the paper. It keeps a smart voice in business.

Mr. Leininger’s point is that the city has failed in its responsibilities to you and to me. He reminds us he said it before years ago, that they, the City, refused during the lead up to the vote on Harrison Square, to make Barry Realty finances public, then failed to demand a performance bond and are currently failing to keep track of income and expenditures at the stadium. In other words, they are doing and long have done a pathetic job of stewarding your funds.

During the initial debate, council members John Shoaff, Tom Smith and Don Schmidt asked to see, to verify, the status of Barry finances. They were patted on the head and told that the city had checked and all was in order. Council need not worry. Later we learn that City Controller Pat Roller and project consultant Steve Brody were the only ones who eyeballed the balance sheet of Barry. They both worked for the team that wanted the deal to fly.

Now, it comes to light that the city is not even bothering to obtain an accounting of the income and expenses Hardball/Barry is incurring at the stadium, numbers that affect the amount Hardball is to pay to the city. Numbers that might come in handy should this discussion we are having end up in court. They are not even checking. “We trust them,” remains the vapid mantra to this day.

Perhaps the administration and Redevelopment Commission should begin representing the community and stop defending, protecting Barry.

What now? Reading the Redevelopment resolution governing the deal a letter is to be sent to Barry now that the city has deemed Barry/Hardball are/is in default on their obligations, which they clearly are/is. Fifteen months ago the condos were to have been completed, indeed a long gestation period. Of course they couldn’t sell their condos locally, those small units were priced at levels New York bon vivants, and Russian oligarchs could afford, not Fort Wayne at prices. Ah, overlooking the stunning Jefferson Boulevard and Downtown Public Library for only $300,000. The completion of the condos was to usher in the next phase of downtown development to be followed by a third phase altogether amounting to some $44 million in downtown revitalization. A tempting morsel, that. Apparently, too tempting to allow for clear thinking and tough negotiating. Two administrations became partners with Barry…

Now, the condos are in serious doubt. Barry, upon receipt of the dun letter, will have 90 days to cure, the Initial Cure Period, if they are ‘showing good faith.” They could beg another 90 days, during which Hardball must continue to work “in good faith,” must show they could not cure in the initial 90 days and, pays the city $5k a day in liquidated damages “until the breech is fully cured.” This could go on for six months, right to the beginning of ball season. Barry could just bail and just may well do that, earlier than later. Their card is the team and the stadium: imagine the fear on the 9th floor of seeing the Tincaps leave town like the Colts left Baltimore. Barry can just walk away from the deal and what do they lose?

Envision the ruckus an empty stadium next to an hole in the ground downtown would raise. Envision Tom Henry a one-term mayor.

So, I suggest to my councilman, Tim Pape, who has been the chief cheerleader for the administration at council, who strongly supported the construction (as did I) of Harrison Square and whose law firm represents the Redevelopment Commission, that he begin to work with the critics of this mess to find a way out of the mess he and the previous administration have created and this administration has allowed to fester. I suggest that tact also to Glynn Hines who backs the administration, I suggest that to Karen Goldner who labors at the table to paint the rosiest of administration pictures, I suggest that also to Marty Bender who works for the mayor and seldom sees that as a conflict of interest when voting on myriad administration (read: his bosses’) proposals. It is time now for the administration to work with the critics, Shoaff, Smith and Harper, to chart a course out of this mess.

A friend told me once about real estate that you make your profit when you buy, not when you sell. It applies to this situation, too. We bought a pig in a poke with the encouragement of men and women we trusted and entrusted.

Scores of millions in downtown development were so alluring that the Redevelopment Commission and my friend, Mayor Graham Richard, were willing to trust Hardball and to defend them from prying eyes in order to get their deal. They bought into a disaster in the making that will take sharp negotiating and creative thinking to avert.

Given the current administration’s willingness to play ball with Hardball/Barry, offer up one pass after another it only makes sense now to appoint Shoaff, Smith or Harper and two from the administration, perhaps deputy mayor Beth Malloy and a colleague, to figure out what to do to bring the Barry/Hardball project to fruition… or to find another ball team and different developers.

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Greg Leatherman gave quite a performance last night at council. The head of Fort Wayne Redevelopment spoke powerfully and without hesitation. He recounted a short history of the Harrison Square project and how it has come, mostly, to fruition. Leatherman, flanked to his left by Fort Wayne Corporate Attorney Tim Haffner, said that four-fifths of the massive project has produced jobs, tax revenue, new activity downtown, jobs again and a spirit of community. He lamented the failure of developers Barry Realty/Hardball, BHB, to complete the condo-retail portion of the project, but said his office, Redevelopment, has constantly monitored their efforts and progress, and feels they are making a good faith effort. He was a veritable bundle of good news and optimism.

Then, he and Mr. Haffner explained that a letter would depart Fort Wayne next week for Atlanta addressed to the BHB leadership, informing them of the decision last week to put BHB on notice that they have failed to fulfill contractual agreements, namely, the Harrison, the multi-story condo-retail building, the fifth leg of the stool, is still a hole in the ground well over a year after it should have been completed.

Councilman Tom Smith was the first to confront Mr. Leatherman and Mr. Haffner. He reminded the government officials that they had denied council a review of BHB finances before the watershed vote citing confidentiality. Smith demanded that current information be shown to council and made publicly available. The officials did not answer him directly. He repeated his demand. Again they sidestepped. He repeated a third time his expectation that the financial strength of BHB would become part of the public record. Smith was very, very forceful in his demand. Later, John Shoaff, during his line of questioning, would remind Leatherman and Haffner that council had been politely patted on the head and told the city had done its “due diligence” and council needn’t worry. It turned out, during Liz Brown’s inquiries, that two people had reviewed BHB’s books, Controller Pat Roller, and project coordinator Steve Brody. Eyebrows raised around the table.

John Shoaff asked if the city would conduct an audit of the books concerning income and expenses at Parkview Field. He was told that was not necessary because the other side was “extremely honest.” Shoaff retorted angrily that the citizens had a right to know about the return on their investment. Silence from Mr. Haffner and Mr. Leatherman.

Karen Goldner then, as if a defense council in a packed courtroom, rose to protect the administration team by tossing up a series of sweetheart, fluff ball questions concerning the deal and participants. She offered them ample opportunity to pat themselves on the back and shine before cameras. She was especially supportive of Steve Brody, who had been a leader at Lincoln National before his retirement and before he was asked by Mayor Graham Richard to lead the effort on Harrison Square. She did not ask probing questions, as a representative of the people might be expected, she did not delve deeper into the matter, she did not add clarity, but rather pandered to the administration’s position.

Marty Bender then took the unusual step of limiting discussion. Typically, council members are given a second chance to ask questions, round one, round two. It is rare when discussion is cut off as it was last night. Councilman Bender, who works for the administration, however, choked off Smith, Shoaff and the others who obviously had more questions to pose concerning this controversial matter.

Tom Didier asked, perhaps the most important question: “now what?” Mr. Haffner ran through the forthcoming steps, but that did not satisfy Mr. Didier. Mr. Didier asked what if BHB failed to build. Mr. Haffner suggested time will tell, a “remedy is to be fashioned.” Mr. Didier was not pleased.

Smith and Shoaff have asked the hard questions, the city has deflected their questions or painted them as testy old women in the hopes they would go away. Neither Shoaff nor Smith, and two, perhaps three others on council, are going away. They are increasingly determined to push the matter on behalf of the community. They feel lied to, condescended to, sidelined, and do not trust city government to represent the citizens in this matter. Time for the city to work with council to lay out what their intentions will be and what steps they will take and keep council fully informed and included at every subsequent step.

Most of the rest of the evening was spent on budget matters. It is that time again.

City attorney Carol Taylor and others came to the table to explain their proposed 1.5% wage increases to city unions. Council, again, asked many questions led by Councilwoman Liz Brown, with Marty Bender coming to the defense of the administration. Tim Pape, again played the administration cheerleader explaining in glowing terms how excellent, wonderful, significant, great, win-win and superb the administration’s actions should be seen. One has to wonder whether Tim represents his district or the ninth floor.

Mrs. Brown asked a series of probing questions about the structures of the deals, some a bit on the nit-picky side, but all worthy of an answer. Ms. Taylor and another representative danced around her questions and she repeated them, finally saying, you did not answer my question. Kumar Menon, the director of City Utilities, finally responded “I do not have an answer.? Council passed all of the city salary ordinances. Controller Roller summed up the city’s perspective when she said that employees had done their very best to find savings for citizens at every opportunity. She reminded members of council that unlike so many other cities Fort Wayne has not had layoffs, has not furloughed, has not cut services (although it has) and city budgets are in good shape. She praised city employees for doing more with less. If you feel that balancing budgets is one of your strengths, check out accounting degrees
online.

The night ended with a slide show from Mitch Harper, Councilman from the west side. He offered a chart from a recent Wall Street Journal article which showed how serious, deep and long the current recession has been and suggested the more adverse effects of the recession have yet to hit Fort Wayne treasuries. His somber message could serve as preamble to the intense budget discussions that will ensue early next month.

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Finally, after a lot of prodding by Council members John Shoaff, Tom Smith and Mitch Harper, not to mention you and I, the Redevelopment Commission has voted to tell Barry/Hardball that the Atlanta firm is in default. The building they promised would be completed last year is still to be begun.

Funny, the story in the Journal-Gazette this AM makes it sound like the wise men on the 9th floor independently came to a point where enough was enough and they decided that they had to move on our behalf. We poor masses should appreciate their studied decision.

Frankly, without John Shoaff, who gets no mention in the Ben Lanka piece, they would still be fidgeting over the matter, if bothering at all. Shoaff has bitten into this issue and held on a giant schnauzer despite personal attacks and being frequently marginalized. The matter would not have come to a head yesterday without Shoaff’s determined leadership. Lanka’s writing does a small disservice to journalism.

We have been writing on the topic for close to a year. We have chronicled Shoaff’s criticisms and demands and the substantial push-back from the administration. You might remember that two weeks ago the administration and Redevelopment boss Christopher Guerin rejected Shoaff’s call for exactly what they have no come to embrace. Two radio program appearances, a Journal Gazette editorial calling for Shoaff to back off and an aggressive op-ed piece by Guerin promoting Barry and belittling Shoaff. Guerin made the matter personal by suggesting that Shoaff was seeking revenge.

Smith who stood by Shoaff from the beginning of the discussion was at the Redevelopment Commission meeting yesterday when the commission finally voted to notify Barry/Hardball of its default.

Now, the ball is in Barry’s court. They will receive the letter, to be drafted by the ace lawyers in the administration, and will respond in someway. We will look into their options over the next few days and report.

As for the Journal story, it is disappointing that Ben Lanka did not tell the full story. And, congratulations to John Shoaff for this victory over foot-dragging.

I will add a note and perhaps my friend and fine public servant Greg Leatherman will respond: I guess that Greg has been in communications with Barry for months on this matter and has related to Barry the growing chorus calling for action on the Harrison. I will guess that Barry knew of the outcome of the vote long before it was moved and seconded. I will also guess Greg has thoughts on what Barry might do next. Greg is to report on the matter in a week at council. I am sure he will give credit where credit is due, unlike some around him.

We will also make it a point to reread the contract with Barry and offer our opinion as to whether the $5,000 per day liquidated damages can be capped at some figure in the $450k range, or whether the contact can be interpreted to the advantage of our community, rather than defended by Mr. Guerin to promote the interests of Hardball.

It seems strange that Mr. Guerin would work so hard to promote their interests over those of the citizens to whom he is purportedly to answer.

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It was a bittersweet moment today for Graham Richard, our former mayor.

Graham stood at the very back of the crowd of 200 or so people, mostly heavy hitters, politicians and affiliates of one downtown organization or another, to watch current Mayor Tom Henry, Redevelopment Director Greg Leatherman and a few others give and take credit for the new hotel adjacent to the ballpark.

It was all Graham’s vision and his name was mentioned once in passing.

So, a couple of representatives of the hotel spoke about the process and about their surprise at seeing so many people turn out to support the opening. Inside there were another 100 or so folk enjoying the new sports bar, milling in the lobby or waiting for a room or wondering what the crowd was all about.

It is a nice hotel. The sports bar is filled with big screen TVs, there are plenty of booths and bar stools and tables. Big smiles abound. It is new, it is clean, it is open and fresh. You might want to come down just to see the place.

A few years back it was just an idea. Most of that area was blighted, really blighted: there were a few houses among the weeds, there were a few parking lots, Belmont Liquors, a nice suburban-look restaurant and more weeds. The houses, for the most part, had seen their best days many years ago.

Mayor Richard had a vision and pushed his staff, including Mr. Leatherman, to make it happen. Obviously, there were bumps along the way, and questionable transactions, but the vision of a ballpark, a hotel, a large parking garage and a condo complex is now 3/4 of the way to realization.

Greg Leatherman was given the greatest credit and, perhaps, the strongest round of applause, deservedly so. The hoteliers credited him with making sure that the project crossed every hurdle. He took a modest bow. The hoteliers complimented the local banks that got on board, because of button-holing by the mayor, and they spoke of the mass that had been created with the huge project nestled among the Grand Wayne, the Embassy, the Lincoln campus, the Library, the Firefighters Museum, the Botanical Conservator and the Federal Building. One fellow emphasized the density, the mass, that had been created as a reason the hotel could go forward. Much applause.

So, now it is up to Mr. Leatherman to make the last piece of the puzzle come to pass, the condo building. He assured me that Barry is making progress, but they still do not have a lead bank around which other lenders can rally. It is different, he said, finding financing for that sort of a building, compared to a hotel, because lenders expect a full portfolio of leases in hand, signed and notarized. It is different also, he lamented, because the easy money that washed all over the place when the project was envisioned is now a fond memory. Bankers are hoarding their money.

Greg added that he was also left out of the loop when Barry flew in the high-level Savannah delegation in mid-August to see the ballpark. Nobody, except Tim Pape, the mayor and another unnamed council member, were privy to the stealth tour. We are digging for that other name. And, Greg said to me before the dedication today that there was not a media campaign to discredit John Shoaff, the principle critic of the project. Things just worked out that way, he said, and I believe him. In the 30-years I have known Greg I know when he is holding back. You will remember Mr. Leatherman was on two radio talk programs and two editorials appeared, both attacking Mr. Shoaff. Seemed like a campaign, but Greg insisted it was not.

So, Barry Realty is the on the spot. The other three legs of the project are complete leaving just a big hole in the ground to mark their languishing promise to the community. It is good that John Shoaff pushes Barry hard and demands the liquidated damages be paid. If nothing more, it is a reminder that we are all paying close attention. The $400k that would result would help the city budget, no doubt.

Leatherman, for his part, fully believes that Barry will make good on their promise and his points to a few leases that are nearly ready to go. He also reminded me that Barry has already put some $6 million into the ball complex and deserves some credit for the entirety of the project.

Meanwhile, at the back of the crowd, in blue jeans and a light shirt, no tie, no suit, loafers, not oxfords, taking it all in with a tired smile was the guy who had the vision and pushed so hard to make it happen. Today, he said to me, would have been his mother’s 92nd birthday. She would have been very proud.

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September first is the grand opening day of the new hotel adjacent to Parkview Field in downtown Fort Wayne. It should be seen as a feather in the cap of Mayor Tom Henry, and should also call into question the administration’s support for Barry Realty.

When Mayor Graham Richard envisioned the massive central city development there were four components: the ball park, the hotel, the condo/retail building and a parking garage. Three are now operating. Only the Barry Realty promise to build the condo building -four stories, scores of condos, ground-floor entertainment and offices- remains unfulfilled.

Barry says the economy went south and they have had a devil of a time finding tenants and condo buyers. Without those leases in hand they are unable to find financing, they say.

The hotel was similarly stymied by financing problems, but the mayor, to his credit, walked from local bank to local bank hustling the necessary financing to finish the deal. He rounded it up and construction went forward.

So the question has to be asked why the city has not been as aggressive in finding financing for the Barry Building? Tapped out? Less enthusiasm? Bigger fish to fry? It seems that if the mayor could shake the bushes for the hotel he could do the same thing for the condo building where he and his wife avidly signed up to buy the first condo.

But, instead, city redevelopment director Greg Leatherman has been making the radio rounds apologizing for Barry’s unsuccessful fund raising effort and arguing that they should not have to pay $5,000 a day compensation to the city for failing to uphold their part of the deal. That provision, not a penalty, but compensation to the city for lost tax revenues, was negotiated into the contract which was happily signed by Barry/Hardball. Mr. Leatherman argues that such a punitive step would booger the relationship with Barry/Hardball and sully our reputation around the country among those who would like to have a similar sweet deal with local government, as does Barry/Hardball.

Recently, an article appeared in the Savannah Morning News, a leading Georgia paper, recounting a trip by some of their city leaders here to Fort Wayne to see our park. The city officials and chamber of commerce head were flown up by Barry/Hardball and given the grand tour in the hope that Savannah would then replicate Parkview Field in Savannah with Barry and Hardball that city’s partners. Oddly, the mid-August visit by these dignitaries was not mentioned by Mayor Henry to anyone in town, except Tim Pape and a few others. Most city council members found out about the visit ex-post facto. “Why am I always the last to know,” lamented one councilwoman. A second visit scheduled for this coming weekend was postponed by Savannah officials for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with the holiday. Mid-September is now penciled in.

Given that the Mayor has sent Mr. Leatherman to WOWO and WBOI to tout the benefits of the field and to refute Councilman John Shoaff’s demand that the $5k per day be assessed. Chris Guerin, a member of the Redevelopment Commission, also was enlisted to write an op-ed piece in the Journal in support of the mayor’s position. And, the Journal-Gazette issued an editorial last weekend further in support of the mayor’s position and critical of Mr. Shoaff. It is an orchestrated campaign to undermine the councilman’s demand to adhere to the contract or to rewrite it, a message that was fundamentally seconded by Councilman Mitch Harper.

So, why did the administration keep the Savannah dignitary visit hush-hush? Not even, it seems, did the mayor’s PR director know the Southerners were in town until they were gone. One would think that such a high level visit to ooooh and aaaaah over our little gem would be more ammunition for the mayor and Mr. Leatherman/Guerin.

So, one has to wonder why the stealth visit was not announced?

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Under consideration in Savannah is whether a brand spanking new arena would become a new home for the Savannah Sand Gnats. If it flies, it will require a public-private partnership amounting to tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. Sound familiar? Wait for the end.

On Aug. 13, the Sand Gnats’ parent company, Hardball Capital, paid to fly Acting City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney, Alderwoman Mary Ellen Sprague and more than a dozen area business leaders to Fort Wayne, Ind., to tour Parkview Field, the year-old arena built for the minor-league TinCaps, which Hardball also owns.

A second trip is planned in September for another Savannah group, which would include other city officials.

“Our thought was that it probably made sense to let the folks in Savannah see what we’ve done in Fort Wayne,” said Jason Freier, co-owner of the Sand Gnats. “The venue is not just for baseball. We’ve done more than 250 events, including concerts, six weddings and business and community functions. It’s not what you’d think of as a baseball stadium.”

Funny, there was no mention of the big-ass gaping hole in left field. It gets better.

Even with renovations, Grayson Stadium, the Sand Gnats’ current home, has its limitations, Freier said. The city, which owns the stadium, has put $5 million worth of improvements into the ballpark through the same 2006 sales-tax fund.

Still, Freier said, “We need to look at how much we continue to spend on an aging venue.”

And then there’s the question of the Savannah River Landing property.

It was supposed to launch a high-end retail, hotel and condominium complex that would generate more than $57.5 million in tax dollars. With development in limbo, tax dollars aren’t coming in as expected, and the city, meanwhile, is obligated to pay back $20 million in bonds to finance infrastructure improvements. This year, the debt obligation is $546,450. But by 2012, the cost will hover at more than $1.3 million until 2032.

In addition to boosting average game attendance, Fort Wayne’s new stadium helped launch surrounding development, including a new hotel scheduled to open Sept. 1 and a residential/retail component, Freier said.

Pardon the &^%$, what the hell did he say?

I have some snake oil for sale if you believe this crap.

Freier is apparently adept at lying through his nose.

No related posts.

I think it’s time someone demanded some answers are where we’re going with this.

Barry losing chance to develop FBI, Archives buildings

Struggling Barry Real Estate Companies Inc. may lose the chance to develop four massive federal buildings because it is unable to secure a construction loan.

It’s a major setback for Barry Real Estate, which is trying to maintain control of key parts of Allen Plaza, the landmark project it developed in downtown Atlanta.

Barry Real Estate recently sold its interest in the nearly $100 million National Archives and Records Administration Building in St. Louis, and may also sell its development interests in three planned FBI buildings in Portland, Ore., Cincinnati and Minneapolis.

“[We] might go down a similar path on those projects,” said Chris Schoen, CEO of Barry Real Estate.

Just saying..

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Hal Barry of Barry Real Estate was at a hearing before a panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) held today at Georgia Tech. Mr. Barry had this to say about the banks.

“Finding a lender to finance these buildings has been a real joke,” Barry said.

[...]

“The recession hit us hard,” Barry said.

Atlanta developers and attorneys shared similar stories with the oversight committee of a banking reluctance to finance new developments or refinance existing deals with reasonable workouts, given the realities of metro Atlanta’s distressed market.

The fact is, the banks are right to hold back. Yesterday, Forbes’ Investopedia had this item:

Bad Commercial Real Estate Loans Now Coming Home to Roost

The numbers are pretty alarming. This year, about 36% of the $270 billion in commercial real estate loans maturing this year are underwater – a situation where the mortgage balance exceeds the value of the underlying property. And things will get worse before they get better. By 2011, 49% of the maturing loans will be underwater, rising to 63% in 2012 and 61% in 2013, before cresting at 57% in 2014.

Between 2010 and 2014, a whopping $770 billion in maturing commercial real estate loans are expected to be underwater. The situation is so grim that even long-time players in the commercial real estate game are predicting that we are facing something akin to a “lost decade” for the U.S. commercial real estate market.

Things have been going so swimmingly well for Barry Real Estate that Lance Patterson, Barry Real Estate’s president and chief operating officer quit back in July. Patterson came from First Fidelity Mortgage Corp in 2005 where he held the role of chief operating officer. In his four short years at Barry Real Estate Patterson was instrumental in bringing in over $1 billion in debt for Barry’s projects.

Back in 2001 the FDIC was issuing warnings to local banks they were vulnerable to downturn in the real estate market. Lance trudged on.

“I don’t think there’s any danger that vacancies are going up or that we’re going to have some problem loans,” said Lance Patterson, chief operating officer of The First Fidelity Mortgage Corp. “We’ve had a fairly decent and consistent amount of building over the past five or so years. It’s fluctuated a little bit, but our take on it is that’s its in equilibrium right now.”

He noted that Atlanta was experiencing a near record level for leasing and net absorption of properties. In addition, over the past several years it has been difficult for builders to obtain money for new buildings.

“It doesn’t mean that people won’t in some cases find money to do their deal, but it sure puts a big lid on it,” Patterson said.”

A few years later Lance was at Barry Real Estate borrowing money like there was no tomorrow.

Poor planning on Barry’s part does not constitute an emergency for others.

Why haven’t we bailed yet?

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Down in Tennessee, Barry Real Estate doesn’t seem to have any problem developing property and spending money.

From the Tennessean.com.

Tower Investments and Barry Real Estate Companies have reached a deal to develop property adjacent to the proposed downtown convention center site, Tower announced today.

[...]

Atlanta-based Barry recently finished developing the Pinnacle at Symphony Place, a 29-story office building a few blocks south of the convention center site. The company’s senior director of development, Jimmy Barry, said the site they now plan to develop is ideal for a mixed-use commercial development, which could include office and retail space.

Meanwhile, Harrison Square continues to be left with a gapping hole.

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I decided to take time from cleaning the gutters today to give a small retrospective of Mayor Henry’s term in office. I’ve listed below some of Henry’s major non-accomplishments. It’s not all-encompassing, so feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section.

Backpedaling on the creation of a fire merit board. During his campaign, he stated he supported it.

Last year, Henry wrote: “I support a true merit system within the fire department. I will work with the union, the chief and the city council to pass into law a merit ordinance that works for all firefighters.”

And when it came around, Henry said this.

“The mayor does support a merit system that mirrors that of the police department,” Mitson said. “He’s not against the merit system but thinks the current legislation passed by the city council is flawed.”

The takeover of the Northeast Indiana Public-Safety Academy. More here.

Refusing to take part in the bridge summit last year between Allen County and Fort Wayne government executives.

Signing the ridiculous lighting ordinance that enables citizens to call the “light police” if they think a neighbor’s light is too bright.

From Fort Wayne Observed.

Council members Shoaff, Goldner, Tim Pape, D-5, Glynn Hines, D-6 and Marty Bender, R-at large voted for the law. Council members Brown, Didier, Tom Smith, R-1st, and Mitch Harper, R-4th, voted against it during both readings.

Henry presented a flat budget in 2009, in spite of HB1001 and a projected $2.1 million shortfall in property tax receipts. He then suggested an increase in local income taxes. Thankfully city council managed $2.5 million in budget cuts in spite of Henry.

Henry also suggested the City Council will likely have to take a look at increasing local income taxes. He initially suggested the council examine income taxes this year before saying it wasn’t needed for 2009.

Complete inaction on the High Performance Government Network contract. Graham Richard furtively crammed a $95,000 per year three-year contract down the city’s throat in the last days of his administration. If it had been $100,000 or more, it would have needed city council approval. More at FWP.

Not enforcing the contractual agreements his mentor Graham Richard saddled the city with regarding the Harrison Square development and Barry Real Estate. Where’s the leadership? Is he waiting for a brother in the real estate business to get a company formed?

Hiding the fact the city hired a firm to lobby for a casino in Fort Wayne. It took the city three months to come clean.

He also neglected to announce that three months earlier, the city hired a Cincinnati law firm, also to lobby for legislative passage of a bill to allow a casino referendum in the city.

The Indianapolis firm is to be paid $3,000 a month for a year. The Cincinnati firm, $3,000 a month for 14 months, plus an upfront payment of $15,000. This $93,000 is in addition to the $45,000 the city pays for a separate legislative lobbyist to handle other issues and to the $32,000 the city paid another lobbying firm to study the economic effects of gambling.

The city doesn’t have much to show for its money. No formal proposal to allow a Fort Wayne referendum was ever made, let alone voted upon, in this year’s legislative session.

Bowing down to pressure from Glynn Hines’ bitching that we needed more “people of color” on the 9th floor, and hiring Vince Robinson as PIO, in part, because he’s black. Don’t get me wrong, Vince is capable and more than qualified, afterall he worked for Graham. But in recent weeks, Vince has displayed he’s really “into” the non-transparency thing.

“It just so happens that Vince Robinson is also a minority so he fulfills two of my goals and that was to have a professional working for us as well as someone of color,” Mayor Henry says.

Hines: They’ve let down the African-American community in not having a single African-American at a department head..

Attempting (successfully) to sneak in an additional $4 million in the financing arrangement for Renaissance Square, a 28 percent increase.

The use of CEDIT funds for the unnecessary destruction of Calhoun street , which has nothing to do with economic development.

The use of CEDIT funds for Renaissance Square, which has nothing to do with economic development.

The building will be purchased for $7.3 million from Renaissance Square, LLC. Renovations and furnishings will add approximately $7.2 million to the budget for a total cost of $14.5 million. The purchase funds will come from County Economic Development Income Tax dollars .

Presenting a 2010 budget that does nothing to prevent a future shortfall as property tax revenues continue to decline. He’ll most likely call for a tax increase next year instead of being prudent.

It gets the city through 2010 and gives the city time to seek other sources of revenue and lobby the state for changes that would help, Henry said.

“What we’re doing is buying time,” Henry said.

While he buys buildings and gets his friends into the trash business.

Giving city employees a 1.5% raise, when almost 10% of the Fort Wayne’s workforce is unemployed.

Refusing to release the video of the José Baudilio Lemus-Rodriguez shooting.

Attempting to give I&M the boot, in spite of the fact that I&M employs 352 employees with an annual payroll of $27 million. They pay $2.5 million in annual property taxes and donate $500,000 a year to local nonprofit groups. Last year they spent $12 million in the aftermath of the ice storm, bringing in over 1500 workers to restore power.

Henry has also continued to refuse to disclose how much the city has spent on attorney fees in the ongoing senseless feud.

Makes you wonder if he has a brother in the power business.

And the crown jewel of Henry’s accomplishments, the Earth First contract. If you’re unaware of what’s going on with that, you can read about it here.

Okay, what did I miss?

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The controversial toll bridge to the Embassy has a couple new wrinkles. First, it seems the city may well bow to public pressure to open the sky bridge so we rabble may enjoy what we have paid for. Secondly, the city has held on to this little secret for a year or more. Wonder why?

To set the scene, part of the even more controversial Harrison Square plan involved a sky bridge from the Embassy to the new hotel. Said sky bridge would thus link the parking garage on Calhoun and Washington to the Hilton to the Embassy to the Marriott to the stadium. Nice. In bad weather a conventioneer or hotel guest could travel from building to building without bundling against the cold or rain. As a regular old citizen I also had dreams of traveling around the downtown enjoying the second floor views of our lovely little city, spared from the weather like a squirrel in the tree tops.

Then, last week, an angry city council president Tom Smith let the cat out of the bag. To his credit he blew the whistle on a part of the deal that he felt was unfair, namely, that we mere citizens would not be allowed to use the sky bridge (which we are paying for) from the Embassy (our Embassy) to the new Marriott (which we are subsidizing). Only hotel guests would be allowed on the million dollar passage you paid for. Smith figured, rightly, that the community would not accept that.

The City administration responded. Greg Leatherman, city official, rationalized that hotel security would be compromised if just anyone (read: we rabble) could enter the building. He said the Marriott needed to limit access to their building. Leatherman, it seems, wears two hats, one when drawing a city paycheck and the other when he speaks on behalf of Marriott or Hard Ball Capital.

Later, it became clearer that the real reason was money: Marriott had designed the entry point into the hotel with only guests in mind: a small, compact, hole in the wall through which one or two persons at a time could pass. To make the entryway into a more public space to handle more foot traffic (we rabble) additional space would be needed. Sellable rooms would have to be sacrificed for a lobby and wider gateway. The Marriott would lose some four or five rooms in the re-engineering. It was simply a question of money. To cover their greed they played the “security” card. To the Marriott people using your money to pay for a bridge was quite acceptable while letting you use what you had paid for was not.

Sources tell me that Greg Leatherman informed other city employees of the little problem long ago, but chose not to make it public knowledge. Apparently, Greg and his fellow leaders in this administration felt it was better not mentioned, that it would go away or not be noticed, or no one would complain. Per his thinking, now one would raise much of a fuss. Thanks to Smith the fuss has been raised and you will have access to what you paid for.

I understand that a “come to Jesus” meeting has been held with city officials and representatives of various foundations and other groups in the city and the Marriott will work out a solution that will allow we mere rabble to use the sky bridge during the better part of the day and evening. You will be able to use it to walk from the Hilton parking garage all the way to Tin Cap stadium to watch a game, and then come back to the Hilton for a night of merriment.

There is a greater question: is this administration trying hard to be a one-term administration. Given their self-inflicted embarrassments on gambling, on Calhoun Street and on the Harrison Square condos, one has to question to whom this administration listens and for whom it works.

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Obama’s states the U.S. government will be more qualified to make these decisions “for you.” Not your doctor, the government. Just give the kid a damn pill and send him home. We don’t really care that he has strep throat, (streptococcal pharyngitis), that may lead to scarlet fever, or septic shock and multi-organ failure. Let’s wait and see what happens after they take this little red or blue pill.

The fact is, while not considered an emergency procedure, tonsillectomies are a proven method of curing recurring strep throat. According to the Mayo Clinic, “If a child has recurring strep throat — six or more positive strep cultures in one year — tonsillectomy may be considered.”

A 2006 Mayo Clinic study looked at the benefit of tonsillectomy in 290 children with recurring strep throat. Researchers reported that children who still had their tonsils were more than three times as likely to develop subsequent episodes of strep throat as were children who’d had their tonsils removed.

I know what I’m talking about. I got strep several time a year as a young child, and it was a painful experience. I sure as hell would not want the government deciding if I needed the operation. And can you imagine the months it would take to get a decision?

Obama:

“Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that’s out there. … The doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, ‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out,’” Obama told a prime-time news conference. The president added: “Now, that may be the right thing to do, but I’d rather have that doctor making those decisions just based on whether you really need your kid’s tonsils out or whether it might make more sense just to change; maybe they have allergies. Maybe they have something else that would make a difference.”

This guy talks out his rear-end and thankfully, the American public is starting to recognize that.

Strep throat is caused by group A streptococcal bacteria, Streptococcus pyogenes. The organisms are transmitted from one infected person to another. In the laboratory, these bacteria are grown on blood agar where they cause a clear halo around the colonies due to the damage to the red blood cells.

Sorry Obama, strep is the major reason for performing a tonsillectomy, and it doesn’t have anything to do with allergies.

He was an AWOL as an Illinois Senator with NO experience, and now he’s acting like the surgeon general.

What a joke.

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Mayor King Henry is keeping the emails a secret.

Go figure.

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