Progress On The Harrison? Not Quite
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 3/30/09 @ 2:14 pm - Filed Under Featured, Local Politics
From a local paper’s editorial:
Now, Brody said, the developers are open to considering whether the residential component should consist of apartments instead of condos. The apartments could become condos in the future. Brody is right to note that “in this environment, all possibilities need to be explored.”
That sounds like good news but unfortunately the word is that it’s not entirely true. The developer is under the impression that if they go this route then they would lose their New Market Tax Credits and they aren’t willing to do that. They may or may not be right about that, I haven’t been privy to their discussions with the city but the program CAN be used for mixed use development per the NMTC FAQ:
Can the NMTC be used for housing?
As in the above question, the law requires that the NMTC be used to make loans or investments, or to provide counseling for businesses, not to develop affordable housing. In certain circumstances, NMTC may be used to finance mixed-use projects, where less than 80% of the gross rental income comes from dwelling units.
I think the truth is that Barry Real Estate had an original plan and profit number in place and they have been unwilling to deviate from that. They now want you to believe that the credit crisis has been their downfall but that’s not true. They couldn’t sell these condos well before the credit crunch.
If they are waiting for the credit markets to bounce back to their irresponsible ways of the last decade then we are never going to see anything built on that land. They need to find a creative solution to this problem and stop waiting for the magic fairy to come and sell their condos.
If the contract has to be renegotiated in order to change the project from condos to apartments then let’s do it. Hell, we haven’t stuck to the original contract anyway so it’s basically useless. But it’s time for Barry Real Estate to shit or get off the pot. No more stonewalling, no more hand-waving, no more “drop dead dates.”
Just get the deal done…
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So where’s the legal defense for the law abiding taxpayers funding this fraud?
I forgot, SNAP! It’s the law..yer’s & politicin’s
that got er’ in this mess!
Snap! let’s do an investigation on who made irresponsible decisions and let’s make them pay it forward!