Vanessa Freeman writes: "Vicky, I think at one time you and your husband managed Riverside Plaza, and the high-rise apartments at Cedar and Riverside. You made tunes of "subsidies" money while under your management. I'd like to know what changed your mind about "subsidies"? Was it before or after alleged mismanagement and the inability to manage such a large and complex project? At the end of your email it say's - one of the givers, not takers....What may I ask that you give to? with all the bashing that comes from your post, it is hard to believe that you are giver, correct me if I wrong, and if I am, then please forgive me, and I will post an apologies for you.
Vicky replies: I'm waiting for your apology Vanessa. Your allegations are not only wrong, but slanderous. Cedar Square West was built thirty years ago - long before Minneapolis gave public money to real estate developers. The land assembly on the West Bank (350 separate parcels) was the largest PRIVATELY FINANCED acquisition in the history of the United States. Property rights meant something then - cities didn't use eminent domain to take property from one citizen and give it to another. Those were the days when real estate developers lost their own money - not taxpayers'. Our partnership lost control of the property in 1982, and in 1986, HUD foreclosed on its mortgage. HUD was repaid in full--$15 million from our companies and $15 million from the MCDA when it bought Cedar Square West and simultaneously flipped it to George Sherman and Dick Brustad for $17 million in December 1988. It should be noted that the appraisal HUD used at that time valued Cedar Square West, now Riverside Plaza at $29 million. Sherman and Brustad got a good deal and the MCDA pocketed a quick $2 million profit. The MCDA still owns most of the land on the West Bank that was part of our original assembly, including the land underneath Riverside Plaza. I hate to disappoint you Vanessa, but I wasn't involved in any of this. I married Keith in 1995 and he died in 1998. During the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, I was busy starting, building, and running a software business - which I sold last year. So contrary to urban myth - our partnership lost millions of PRIVATE dollars in Minneapolis. Bad management? Maybe. For whatever reasons, it was a failure, and that means that our partnership must take responsibility for it. Over these past thirty years, our companies have paid more than $35 million in property taxes to the City of Minneapolis. To my knowledge, we never asked for or received anything from the City. That is what I meant by "giver" as opposed to "taker." Vicky Heller Cedar-Riverside and North Oaks TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
