Suggest A Link For This Page: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/links.html _________________________________________ What did we get for our $11.3 million at the WTC downtown? Brace yourself, I do have an opinion on this one, and facts...
As you can read in the City Pages article referenced at the bottom of this post, the deal was sold by the Coleman administration on the premise of a Block-E style retail rennovation of the WTC. In the details, that deal was flawed, as we will see. What actually happened in the ensuing years is absolutely depressing. We helped Wells Fargo move across downtown; we got an empty retail atrium at the WTC; largely emptied out Fifth Street Center; forced out many accounting and legal firms, the lifeblood of downtown's financial sector, which helped contribute to another wave of departures; helped the then-WTC owners sell their building at a higher price; and partly as a result, spent another $7.8 million to downsize Marshall Field's and other smaller projects. And as we will see, I think most people will agree that I have not overstated my case. The WTC's retail atrium, far more bustling before the deal is now about 70% vacant, and only 5% retail. Remember, the deal was sold on the premise of a Block E-type retail rennovation. Besides a convenience store, and two fast-food joints, there are no real "retail" uses left in this building. The builing (built 1987) is directly attached to Marshall Field's, and people using the Children's Museum go through it via skyway to get to their car. The Children's Museum (finished 1995) was lured with City money to help solidify the area's place as a destination. In fact, the majority of the atrium has sat empty for at least 5 years, including two spaces along Wabasha at 7th, on the skyway, right next to Marshall Field's. Since 1996 when talk of rennovation began, the building has lost the following retailers and more (I'm working off memory and a few refrences here): Victoria's Secret, Express, Lane Bryant, Lerner, Au Bon Pain, Eddie Bauer, Map Store, Payless Shoes, Radio Shack, Musicland, Gingiss Formalwear, Maud Bourp Candies, Arby's, Caardvark, One Potato Two, Kinko's, Great Steak and Fry Company, Mike's shoes, Hosko Gallery, Manchu Wok, Waldenbooks, and many more. Many of these more "tony" mall destination stores were FORCED out. I can cite more PiPress and Strib articles that show how (along with real people). The retail core downtown didn't die on its own. The flawed subsidy given to the WTC owners facilitated that move. The owners cleared out the atrium on the questionable premise they were going to convert it to a "Block E" type destination with dining and a megaplex. Then, when that didn't happen, they used the money that was supposedly for retail to push out the remaining tenants and apparently lure in Wells Fargo. And guess what? Principal sold the building to Zeller Realty in fall 2000. And got a much sweeter sale price thanks to taxpayer contributions, no doubt. In early 2001, Wells Fargo moved in. The move was pre-negotiated before Principal sold the building. When Wells Fargo moved in, they closed one of the exits to Wabasha Street and the Children's Museum and put their autobank through the space that used to be the Heartthrob Cafe and Payless Shoes. Part of the $11.3 million seems to have been used to help the needy folks at Wells Fargo build out their space in fine marbles and woods. Then, in 2001, since most signs of life had dried up around it, Marshall Field's came begging for some City money of its own. They got $7.8 million to downsize their store from five stories to three. And in the process, we had to turn our backs on the Living Wage Ordinance. Several smaller grants and loans, ranging from $400,000 to several million, have been made to high-end restaurants downtown, several of which were supposed to be part of a subsidized, rennovated WTC. Some of the restaurants seriously looked at opening up in the rennovated WTC; that was part of the "concept" for rennovating the building, the premise for the $11.3 million subsidy. Kinkaid's was one of those restaurants; they eventually got $2.5 million to open up in the already heavily-subsidized Lawson Building. But despite the WTC subsidy, there are no sit-down restaurants there seven years later. Some officals, disconnected with the average constituent (and apparently reality), toasted each other about the "success" of the WTC project two years ago. The Center has sat the past many years with giant vinyl pictures of the Center itself on the wall, to mask the emptiness. As if to blackmail us into more subsidies, they leave construction lights on at night in the 100% empty space along Wabasha (or maybe to deter the criminals who hang out on the lifeless street outside). The WTC's new owner (Zeller Realty of Chicago) appearently gets a tax write off for much of the empty space. On their website, they boast that the atrium has the highest pedestrian counts of any location in the downtown skyway system. And its next to Marshall Field's. Yet, looking at the 70% vacancy, you'd think it'd be a terrible location for a store. I would also like to draw your attention to what happened to the office spaces in the World Trade Center. The building, concieved as a "trade center" by the Perpich administration, housed many of the key components that sustain downtown as a financial center. A number of accounting and legal firms, such as St. Paul natives Winthrop & Weinstine (if recollection serves me right), were pushed out of the Center to make way for Wells Fargo. Several have left, or are leaving downtown St. Paul. And that has caused a wave of others to leave, which is not unrelated to the terrible office vacancy situation we find ourselves in. Not that the WTC office building is full. No, a recent article hilighted the building as an example of a struggling property. And the Fifth Street Center, where Wells Fargo used to reside, sits visibly rusting and empty in the middle of the skyway system. Let me review how we got here. We were told that the WTC owners wanted to rennovate. They needed a little money, so we cut them a $11.3 million deal. But, as City Pages writes, "it turned out that splashy retail renovation wasn't part of the deal: Read the fine print, and you'll notice that the final contract signed in November of last year says that [in exchange for the $11.3 million] Principal simply 'anticipates' investing somewhere between $4.5 to $14 million for World Trade Center renovations... There is no binding requirement that Principal invest a cent in the retail area of the World Trade Center...Pam Wheelock, director of St. Paul's Planning and Economic Development Department, says, 'We're interested in investment in the property and we didn't differentiate between office and retail.'" Sadly, that's not how the deal was sold to the public. The WTC seems worse off after the deal than before it. I own a condo three blocks from the WTC, and I walk by it every day. In my eyes, it has turned into a absolute dump. I always am worried about being too opinionated, but this deal alone is enough to make anyone who knows the details of how this played out sick to their stomach. Problem is, too few people are paying attention. Bob Spaulding Downtown "Having an opinion is good, as long as you are respectful." The author is soley responsible for the opinions expressed. Source: http://www.citypages.com/databank/19/930/article6187.asp More good reading on subsidies, and the subject of my first post on this forum: http://www.citypages.com/databank/23/1140/article10766.asp _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
