There’s no hotel on the horizon, but in spite of that important component, work for the walkway to the Embassy has already begun.
When questioned about the work going they confirmed they are doing demolition work on the inside of the hotel by ripping the walls out, modifying or adding stairwells and an elevator, and “the hole” would soon follow.
One Embassy employee was rather perturbed when we spoke with him. He said “not only are they fscking up my sidewalks, they are loud as hell, creating MORE dust for something that isnt even going to happen. If a hotel gets built, it will be 2 years from now, I just have that feeling”
Indiana News Center is reporting that part of the funds will be used for office space.
The improvements in the Embassy, meanwhile, are being funded primarily with city tax dollars.
Kelly Updike/Embassy Executive Director: ” From the outset, everyone agreed that this needed to have no financial impact negatively on the Embassy, because we are a non profit in this community, and the other good news is that, this whole project schedule, which will last up to a year, does not influence our shows negatively at all.”
[...]
There’s good reason to believe the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel at Harrison Square will eventually get built, and the upgrades at the Embassy are expected to open the upper four floors of the Embassy and Indiana Hotel for new office space.
So the city of Fort Wayne is now paying approximately one million dollars, (of your money) for this without any assurance of a hotel. What if the hotel doesn’t happen? Is the Embassy getting a free remodeling job? And office space? Don’t they realize that there’s currently a glut of office space in downtown Fort Wayne?
On top of that, Greg Leatherman says the city is still scratching their ass trying to figure out where to get the money to complete everything.
In the ongoing discussion in the press and the chatter on local talk radio regarding Fort Wayne’s Harrison Square there’s a line of reasoning that goes like this:
“Nobody could have foreseen these economic times . . . city officials did their very best with our money . . . they should not be blamed for having the courage to bring a vision to reality, a plan that could have worked, something good for the entire community.”
That is a defense, however, against accusations never made.
No one believed that those involved in the planning of Harrison Square were careless or insincere. It did become obvious, however, that while promoters initially may have wished good for the community, human nature inevitably took over and self-interest began to drive public policy.
As a result, Fort Wayne now must be counted another victim of well-intentioned visionaries with the power to tax.
The Nobel laureate Milton Freidman in his award-winning book and television series, “Free to Choose,” describes such a situation in the context of one of four different ways people spend money, i.e., “spending other people’s money on other people.”
Thus the well-meaning fellow with a fuzzy civic vision places himself in the position of spending others money for community “good.” Classically, it means serving on a not-for-profit board or assuming the position of “public servant.” In many of these positions, Friedman wants us to know, there is virtually no restraints on spending and, if your intentions are deemed worthy by the media, honor and esteem to boot.
And when, as is the case of Harrison Square, the wheels do fall off, there is no personal punishment or accountability. Indeed, failure itself is often used to justify even more money to “clean up the mess.”
Dr. Friedman continues: “If I want to do good with other people’s money, I first have to take it away from them. That means, at its very bottom, a philosophy of violence and coercion. It’s against freedom, because I have to use force to get the money. In the second place, few people spend other people’s money as carefully as they spend their own.”
Citizens of Fort Wayne, if they hope to prevent future debacles, must hold the boosters of Harrison Square accountable to the Freidman dictum, and for a number of reasons.
First, we must question how much civic courage it takes to pursue a vision of “good” with money taken from other people. Was it ethical, appropriate and even legal to expropriate the taxpayers’ resources for condominiums and baseball stadiums? If the answer is “yes”, then we are little more than indentured servants of a government granted unrestrained power to tax and spend.
Second, we must ask if it is true that nobody could have foreseen this outcome. Eighty percent of the public saw it coming, according to opinion polling. And 100 percent of private investors refused to risk their own capital on the government’s vision. The politicians, with no skin in the game, proceeding anyway, calculating they could make excuses if the bag (which we now hold) ultimately turned up empty.
It is a good guess that the Atlanta “investors” in Harrison Square still retain benefits in the form of tax abatements, forgiven leases of the old stadium and probably cash.* Fort Wayne citizens wish they could say the same.
On this last point it is interesting to note that practically all construction contracts contain performance bond requirements and set dates for completion of a project, thus placing risks on the developers. In the case of Harrison Square, these risks have now apparently become the taxpayers’ problem. (Some will recall that Councilmen Tom Smith and former Councilman Don Schmidt asked unsuccessfully to review our Harrison Square partners’ financial statements in order to evaluate their credit capacities.)
And finally, as hard as it is to say, nobody can ever know for sure that the project is honest. That, unfortunately, is the nature of other people spending your money — you’re never quite certain where it went.
This was the primary concern of Fort Wayne citizens like me with Harrison Square — specifically, that without the tests of a free market we would never really know whether it was a good idea or bad.
That concern, recent events now demonstrate, was spot on.
Ron Reinking, CPA, owns an accounting firm in downtown Fort Wayne. He is an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review writing frequently on economic development and urban public policy. Contact him atipr@iquest.net.
* A good part of the investment of the lone “private investor” in Harrison Square, a company of unknown assets and financial accountability, was apparently guaranteed by various agreements and legal devices.
Salt Lake City, Utah Welcomes White Lodging’s Newest SpringHill Suites Hotel Located Adjacent to Airport
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 16 – White Lodging opened a 143-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Salt Lake City, UT adding to the company’s impressive growing portfolio of more than 140 hotels in seventeen states nationwide. Located at 4955 Wiley Post Way, the hotel is owned and managed by White Lodging of Merrillville, IN.
“We’re proud to unveil a great alternative to the Salt Lake City market with a fresh and contemporary design,” stated Regional Vice President Chip Young. “The balance of being located so close to the airport and minutes from exciting Salt Lake City attractions make this new hotel an ideal destination for both business and leisure travelers.”
The hotel features Marriott’s stylish design and boasts a residential feel complete with plush bedding package and numerous details and amenities. The 143 suites are 25 percent larger than a comparably priced hotel room, giving guests room to succeed while visiting the Wasatch Mountains and the outdoor adventures of Salt Lake City, Utah. Additionally, the hotel offers complimentary breakfast buffet, full business center, complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle and over 365 square feet of flexible private meeting space.
Conveniently located adjacent to the Salt Lake City International Airport, the SpringHill Suites by Marriott is just short drive to several area attractions including the Energy Solutions Arena, Gateway Shopping Plaza, LDS Temple Square, Salt Palace Convention Center as well as a variety of ski resorts close to the Salt Lake Valley.
Austin, TX (December 3, 2008) – A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled today to officially kickoff the beginning of construction on the Westin Austin at The Domain in Austin, Texas – an eye-catching, modern landmark and sophisticated lifestyle center. The property, which is owned by affiliation of Merrillville, IN-based White Lodging and Indianapolis, IN-based Simon Property Group, marks the introduction of the Westin brand to Austin, Texas. Expected to open in early Summer 2010, The Westin Austin at the Domain will offer luxurious accommodations and a sensory-rich environment designed to create an oasis of effortless style, efficient service and complete serenity.
[...]
We are excited to announce the ground breaking of this iconic project,” said White Lodging’s Deno Yiankes, president and ceo of investments and development. “The Westin Austin at The Domain brings to the area tremendous, luxury and prestige – qualities that are synonymous with the Westin name. The amenity-driven brand has an international vision for high quality, and that concept will be reflected in this hotel.”
Then again, maybe the Simon family has deeper pockets than White Lodging? Simon Property Group failed to respond to Fort Wayne’s RFP for the hotel at HS. Maybe they’re smart enough to know a losing proposition when they see one?
We were buffaloed when they said they’d give us a full-service Marriott Renaissance. They claimed they could do it for $47 million, yet Marriott testified before the Federal Trade Commission in December of 1999 “The cost to develop a first class Marriott or Renaissance Resort could often exceed $100 million in the aggregate.” More on that here.
We then got stuck with what might as well be a Motel 6. Now, they cannot obtain a construction loan. Funny how they managed to get one in the same time period in Austin, TX.
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.
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.
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.
We supposedly have over 100 homeless people in Fort Wayne, according to the city web site. Here’s an idea for Harrison Square, create a homeless campground using these cute little tents on wheels.
It appears from many accounts that White Lodging is spinning out of control. As first reported here on November 16th, White Lodging has be unable to obtain a construction loan for the hotel at Harrison Square.
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.
Thanks to a faithful reader for providing this information.
There is not a lack of financing available for condos at The Harrison, contrary to what Ben Lanka and Greg Leatherman might have you believe. Star Financial has financing available.
Star Financial Bank provided this in an email:
I appreciate your willingness to let people know we are willing to offer 6 – 90% LTV loans combo 80/10/10 loans to avoid MI. (mortgage insurance)
David Egts
Mortgage Sales Manager
Star Financial Bank
An 80/10/10 LTV loan plan combines two mortgages with a down payment: an 80% first mortgage, a 10% second mortgage, and a 10% down payment. Though the buyer finances 90% of the cost of the property, the buyer avoids paying the expensive mortgage insurance required on a 90% loan by dividing the amount financed between two mortgages. The buyer will pay a higher interest rate on the smaller mortgage, however.
To date, no one has called Star Financial about getting a loan, and nowhere on The Harrison’s web site is Star Financial mentioned as a source for a loan.
We will delete comments that are abusive, off-topic, use excessive foul language, or include ad hominem attacks.
We understand the need for anonymity due to your profession, etc. We only require a valid email address, which we will from time-to-time, attempt to verify. However, violate the first paragraph and you will be banned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I posted a comment. Why can't I see it on the site?
A: It may be in moderation, awaiting approval. Avid using CAPS, and inserting more than one link and chances are that will fix the issue if you're an approved commenter.
Q: Why am I blocked from commenting on AWB?
A: There are a few scenarios in which a comment might be blocked:
A comment is abusive, off-topic, uses excessive foul language, or includes an ad hominem attack
If a commenter has previously posted comments that are abusive, off-topic, used excessive foul language, or include ad hominem attacks, we may decide to ban the commenter or force their comments into moderation.
Q: Can I include HTML in my comments?
A: Some is allowed, and it displayed above the comment field. If you include a URL in you comment, it will be converted to a link.
In the ongoing discussion in the press and the chatter on local talk radio regarding Fort Wayne’s Harrison Square there’s a line of reasoning that goes like this:
Entries (RSS)
