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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Good afternoon and welcome. This is the first time a state of the city speech has been delivered here in the regional public safety academy of northeast Indiana.

Which is slated to lose a projected $1.8 million through the end of next year. Henry’s power grab at the facility resulted in most of the board resigning due Henry trying to exert too much control over what was to be an autonomous entity.

Today is the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln…many say, our greatest president (pause) so far.

So far my ass. Henry forgot to mention that since Obama was elected, the Dow Jones has lost 2,000 points, the porkulus package is filled with bullshit, including $30 million to protect some stupid tiny mouse in Nancy Pelosi’s district that won’t stimulate anything.

I try to keep Lincoln’s second inaugural address in mind as we face those challenges: “with malice toward none but charity for all,” he said, “…let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds…”

How original. Obama’s been running around quoting Lincoln all week, now Tom Henry is parroting the same Lincoln speeches. How about something in the way of original thinking?

Politics did put us on the map in 2008….and we enjoyed our moment in the spotlight. Former president Bill Clinton, presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton, Ted Danson in support of Hillary…

Danson is the dumbass that claimed back in 1988 that all of the oceans would be dead within 10 years and so would all of us. Henry is still star-struck over meeting one of the biggest asshat liberals to walk the planet, amazing.

We accepted matching dollar applications through the middle of December, and set aside 200-thousand dollars in CEDIT money to fund the projects, but the response was so strong and the projects are of such high quality, that I agreed with the staff to double the infusion to 400-thousand dollars..

Then he snatched it away from the city council members so *he* can better decide how to use the funds.

When the program started in 1990, each council district received $450,000 with an additional $450,000 split among the three at-large members. Henry slashed that amount to $250,000, and now it’s going to ZERO.

On to the casino issue.

We know the issue of gaming has broad implications. That is why, as a community, we are studying it in depth. We need to fully understand what those implications are—both the positives and the negatives.

As your mayor, I am committed to creating opportunity for all our citizens and making sure that Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana have every chance to thrive and compete.

So let’s seize this moment to do several things that are essential:

First, let’s continue the community conversation about the benefits and costs of this opportunity; Second, let’s allow the emerging prospect of gaming to move forward in the legislature; and third, let’s have the courage to pursue a full consideration of the gaming issue…. remembering that it must bring us new jobs, high-quality investment, and significant new revenue enabling us to enrich our community in meaningful ways. Nothing less is acceptable.

Sorry mayor, it won’t work. From Fort Wayne Observed:

One of the big items that has gone unnoticed in talks of casino gambling in Fort Wayne is that there will soon be a very large casino opening this summer just a short drive from northern Indiana.

It is the new FireKeepers Casino being constructed on Interstate 94 near Battle Creek, Michigan. It is only 4 miles west of I-69. The casino is being developed by the Nottawaseppi Band of the Potawatomi Indian Tribe.

From Disenfranchised American:

The Sturgis City Council voted last night 9 to 0 to approve a new Casino to be built, right near the Indiana line, just north of Howe, IN.

How many casinos can one region have and still be successful?

Also from Fort Wayne Observed:

Dan Carmody, Fort Wayne’s former head of the Downtown Improvement District, responded to a recent Fort Wayne Observed post on the possibility of casino gaming in Fort Wayne:

From my experience at the origins of heartland gambling casinos are poor levers of economic development and even worse as new forms of revenue generation for units of local government. We are faced with a situation which demands a return to basics, casino gambling is a nice niche for affluent societies but not a cornerstone for local economies in crises.

Why’s he wasting the time and money on this?

Business is also alive at Fort Wayne city utilities, the last of our sewer separation project, in southeast Fort Wayne was finished in 2008… Creating additional holding space for sewer overflows and solving basement back-up problems.

Our city-owned utilities continues to invest in its infrastructure as well. Most recently completing a 32 million dollar clarifier project at our sewage treatment facility. These improvements will significantly increase the plant’s capacity to treat raw sewage..

Ahem. I’m still on a septic, (after being in the city for over 3 years), and several other neighborhoods in Aboite are shit-up-the-creek as well. I also live in an area without a city maintained storm water system. The ground doesn’t perk and a large portion of the affluent (shitty-water) runs into the Hadley ditch.

Another example of collaboration is the city and county working closely together for the joint information technology needs of local government.

Yet the mayor’s office still cannot provide city council with monthly operating statements?

Back in 1974, mayor Ivan Lebamoff had the vision to implement a very creative plan. He agreed that the city would get out of the business of bringing electricity to customers and instead would lease the electric utility to I&M. The agreement stated that I&M would continue to operate the system and the city could, if desired, take back the utility at the end of the lease.

The completion of the lease is approaching, and discussions are underway on an agreement that will best serve local citizens and customers. The city is currently holding thirty five years’ worth of lease payments, held in a community trust. I had hoped today to tell you how I thought we, as a community, could be discussing the use of the trust fund. But two things prevent me from opening that conversation: one— the market has taken investors on a wild ride, and our trust fund, which was at about 35 million dollars a year ago , thanks to our economy, is worth significantly less. That’s troubling.

Even more pertinent, however, is the fact the money was originally set aside to assure citizens they would have a responsive, reliable source of electricity. Because first and foremost, that money is dedicated to assuring continued electrical service for our citizens-that’s our top priority…and we do remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached soon.

The first reason he doesn’t want to discuss is troubling. Who’s he having the discussions with? How about a little transparency. The second reason is bullshit. I&M can continue to service customers with or without the lease. The majority of what they leased from the city they have since replaced with new equipment.

And he barely touched on Harrison Square.

As we look ahead into 2009, we still have many unanswered questions. We certainly don’t know how the economy will continue to impact the entire Harrison Square development, especially the retail and residential portions.

But I do invite each of you to join me April 16th for the first pitch at Parkview Field!

Sans a hotel, condominiums and retail.

Yawn..

AWB

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He [Mayor Henry] hopes to improve that mark this year by working more aggressively to improve the economy and to jump-start Harrison Square and other lagging big-money projects started by his predecessor, Graham Richard.

“For those naysayers out there who are criticizing Harrison Square as a bad idea … I’m going to have to take them to task on that. (But) we need to get the hotel finished. We need to complete Harrison Square,” Henry said Tuesday during an interview with The News-Sentinel and NewsChannel 15. “I’m hoping it will be built sooner rather than later.”

Get the hotel finished? It hasn’t even started. Why does the city of Fort Wayne need to complete Harrison Square? Beyond the stadium, it’s a private enterprise project. Hmmm.. makes you wonder if the stench of more subsidized HS welfare is wafting through the 9th floor.

Henry said the city may try to coordinate the effort to obtain financing for the projects by bringing a pool of potential lenders to the table.

Developers say they remain committed to the behind-schedule projects, but some have criticized the city for not doing more to contractually assure their timely performance by the developers. But Henry said penalizing the city’s private partners now might do more harm than good.

“We have fall-back positions, certainly,” he said “But what does that get us, really?”

Fall-back? I can hear it now, let’s rob the city’s light-lease fund, then loan some money to White Lodging so they can complete the project. They can call it Fort Wayne’s economic stimulus plan. After all, we can collect interest on it and then we can also start paying White Lodging the guaranteed profits we promised.

If White Lodging and Barry Real Estate cannot deliver, maybe it’s time to put the call out to other developers and see what ideas they can bring to the table. Maybe that will light a fire under someone’s posterior.

AWB

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Who Killed Downtown?

What does a living downtown look like?

All day there are pedestrians along the streets, and even more in the evening.

Commerce thrives, from department stores to quirky little one-of-a-kind shops, from thrift stores to boutiques, and plenty of restaurants open from morning to night.

There are places to rest, lovely things to look at, public art and music, and occasional events that bring even larger numbers of people downtown.

When a downtown is alive, the people of the city think of it as their own, the place to be, the heart of their community.

What does a dead downtown look like?

The sidewalks are virtually empty. There are few shops, and the restaurants are only open for lunch. There is no pleasure in walking around because there’s nothing to see, nothing to do, nothing to buy.

Sound familiar?

[...]

So much time and money wasted on driving, when thoughtful urban planning could allow more and more of us to live in the kind of walking neighborhood, the living communities that used to be the rule instead of the exception in America.

Will it change? In many places in America, yes, it is changing, and more and more communities are realizing that the vibrancy and vigor of Manhattan and Paris and Florence and London are easily replicated without having to put up with the negatives of the big city.

But will it change here? Not a chance.

Because Greensboro is led by people who think the way to “revive downtown” is to build a big new stadium there.

A stadium! Oh, that’ll bring people downtown, won’t it — why, you could walk for ten or fifteen city blocks around that new stadium and never find a single thing to look at or a single thing to do.

A new stadium will be just another dead space, a monument to folly, like our ugly coliseum and convention center. Another proof that you don’t actually have to know what a city is in order to be elected to govern one, or hired to plan it. [more here]

Does that ring a bell with anyone? Here they are seven years later, with some limited success still trying to develop downtown Greensboro.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Winston-Salem and Greensboro — two cities that have spent several years rejuvenating their urban centers — say finding financing is difficult. As a result, they’re putting the brakes on plans for the foreseeable future.

And this.

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2008

Financing delays downtown projects

GREENSBORO — Developers who want to rehab the old Southeastern building downtown can’t get the financing they need for the $8 million [condo] project.

Brace yourself Effie.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2000

Editorial: Downtown downturn?

The first phase of the Center Pointe tower now will open in January, says its developer, Greensboro builder Roy Carroll. He says the economy has slowed recent sales of condominiums in the new high-rise but no previous sales have fallen through.

“Most of our buyers are empty-nesters,” he says. “They don’t need to sell their current residences to buy ours.”

I thought here in Fort Wayne they were building the condos for the X&Y generations to help stop the brain drain. It’s almost February, and Barry Real Estate is pretty quiet on what’s going on with The Harrison development.

Even with the failure of some condo developments, Greensboro has been somewhat successful with apartments, even their stadium seems to be drawing crowds, according to this article.

One of the saving graces of today’s downtown may be its ability to help sustain itself. More than 1,200 people live there now versus 500 four years ago.

City View Apartments are a rousing success. New Bridge Bank Park defies conventional wisdom by attracting big crowds one baseball season after another. The opening of a popular new chain restaurant, the Mellow Mushroom, near the southern tip of downtown could draw more traffic beyond the center city’s hottest few blocks along South Elm.

Keep one thing in mind, downtown Greensboro has more than 1,000 retail shops, restaurants and service businesses to help draw people downtown. How many does Fort Wayne have?

According to The Downtown Improvement District’s web site, if you take out the fast food restaurants, i.e. McDonalds, Wendy’s Taco Bell, etc we have less than 30 restaurants and only about 12 within walking distance of downtown. We have less than 10 retail shops unless you include The Lincoln Museum, (now closed), Science Central, the Salvation Army Thrift Store, Ream-Steckbeck Paint Company, A Party Apart and several other ridiculous listings in their “Shopper’s Guide to Downtown Fort Wayne“, and what could be considered actual attractions amount to less than 20.

We’re stuck the the stadium, so maybe John McGauley’s idea for an indoor water park merits some discussion, as do other ideas. Given the current economic and financial environment, it’s about time Fort Wayne re-think its moving forward plans for downtown revitalization.

For starters, ditch the condos.

AWB

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Yesterday Kevin Leininger reported this:

Although officials with Merrillville-based White Lodging Services say they still hope to begin construction on the 250-room Courtyard by Marriott this year, President and CEO for Investments Deno Yiankes said Friday the company is negotiating with its third would-be lender and that a loan agreement could still be at least months away.

Still hope? Months away? That’s not very definitive, now is it?

No condo’s, no hotel, no retail.

And it appears that White Lodging is giving Austin, TX the shaft as well.

The Austin Statesman reported last month that groundbreaking on a 1,000-room, $275 million hotel [by White Lodging] – originally scheduled for 2008, then this year – is being shelved until further notice.

AWB

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3. What about Barry? What’s happening with Barry Real Estate and the failed condo/retail...

Graham Richards’ legacy:

A failed inner-city housing development, a $2 million tax break to a McDonald’s restaurant, the failed Public Safety Academy of Northeast Indiana, the failure in the development of The Harrison condo project, and screwing the city for $300,000 for his consulting gig.

What am I forgetting?

Happy New Year! – AWB

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