Victoria Heller wrote: > Since 1988, the MCDA has owned the land underneath Riverside Plaza - > approximately 391,129 square feet.
> At $20 per square foot (confirmed by Mr. Minn in the Southwest Journal
> article) the City would receive $7.82 million CASH by selling the land.
>
> At $25 per square foot, the City would receive $9.775 million.
>
> The Riverside Plaza partners (George Sherman, Dick Brustad, Fannie Mae,
> Wells Fargo, as of my last check) were supposed to pay the City land rent
> of approximately $144,000 per year, which of course they didn't. So 15
> years of delinquent land rent comes to another $2.2 million.
>
> It should be noted that, in 1998, the MCDA tried to pull a fast one on the
> City Council (CM Lisa Goodman remembers this too.) Staffers Cynthia Lee
> and Michael Schwab tried to sell the land to Sherman for $6 per foot AND
> write off all of the delinquent land rent - WITHOUT DISCLOSING THAT PART TO
> THE COUNCIL!!!!!!!! The land sale was stopped at that time, six months
> later Michael Schwab told the CMs that "it never happened." I was at both
> of the MCDA operating committee meetings - and still have the printed
> agendas and minutes.
>
> Does anyone else see what's been going on here? Does anybody care?
I care. If the facts are as you say, then I'd be most happy to see the members of the MCDA who tried to sell the land for $6 prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for trying to steal from the taxpayers.
Then I'd like to see Mssrs. Sherman, Brustad, et al in court facing court ordered confiscation of their assets to pay the delinquent rents, unless they immediately paid up in full, with some additional interest penalties on top. Then maybe Minneapolis should offer to sell them the land at $20-$25 a square foot. Otherwise, they'd better be on time with their rent payments forever more.
As this is the first I've heard of it, I can't argue the accuracy. But if what you say is correct, I'm beyond disgusted with the grand theft of more than $2 million from the Minneapolis taxpayers.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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