Let me propose a positive speculation: The businesses, with few exceptions, want the project.
I'm glad you used the word speculation, as it seems apropos. I've not been active in any kind of way in this project, but only posted a couple messages on this list raising a few concerns of mine. Despite that, I've heard (unilaterally) directly from a few of those business owners.
All business owners on Lake street with whom I've had contact were uniformly opposed to the project, and all of them felt co-opted by the Phillips Partnership. They claim the Partnership pretends to represent neighborhood interests, but is really just an instrument for neutralizing those critical of the project.
Rightly or wrongly, Wells Fargo and Allina believe that having a freeway ramp to their doors will improve their bottom lines -- their profits. Ultimately, that is the only thing with which they are truly concerned.
They both face a few choices when they stop and contemplate their geographical situation: stay where they are and make the best of it, spend lots of money to move to another location, or cajole the city, county and state into making the taxpayers pay for their desired property improvements.
Clearly they have chosen the last choice -- make us pay for their solution. Would this project even exist if not for their lobbying? If the answer is no, and I firmly believe it is, then one can only conclude that a lot of effort has been made to convince others that it is good for them or their constituencies -- otherwise the tax payers would revolt. Many of us are, anyway.
It's not as if all the minority business owners all got together, formed a PAC, dreamed up this idea, and hired Smith Parker to lobby for it. No, they've been sold a bill of goods.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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.)
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