Has anyone heard any estimates of how much it will take to purchase the GSE real estate? Couldn't the city have used its eminent domain powers to acquire the property? It would have to pay fair compensation of course but that could have been funded with bonds I should think. Had that been done, the city would then have been in a position to hold a design competition to select the developer. That developer might well have been Sherman/Kraus but the process would have been a lot more open and we'd know what we were getting. Also, there might have been a variety of designs to choose from.
It's true that Sherman Assoc. have a good record when it comes to urban development and there's no reason to expect that they'll do a horrible job with the GSE site. But, from what you can read in the paper (and I realize that's not the most complete source), the $1 million dollar loan, plus TIF financing and God only knows what else has bought us something of a pig in a poke. We know there's a requirement that some parts of the old buildings be preserved and maybe some numbers of housing units have been specified. However, do we (the city, that is) know exactly what's going to be built? Or, are we simply relying on Sherman's good reputation? There are other, more transparent ways to do development than this. Charlie Swope Ward 1 _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ 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/
