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Yes. Do something for the East who has felt neglected. Then watch them promptly forget and demand the streetcar because nothing has been done for them.
those east-siders, they sure have a lot of nerve!! Next thing you know they're gonna want something! Hasn't 30 years of neglect taught them anything?
those east-siders, they sure have a lot of nerve!! Next thing you know they're gonna want something! Hasn't 30 years of neglect taught them anything?
I don't think there is any issue with people wanting to improve their neighborhood.
The issue is politicians who take their taxes and spend it on projects that don't achieve this improvement. So far, the only winners in the Eastland Mall debacle were the very wealthy investors in that property. If Eastland was such a pall on the east side, they should have been held to account for the damage it did instead of being handsomely rewarded for their negligence. That is, if one believes that Eastland is responsible.
The city council and mayor were completely irresponsible with the taxpayers money.
I don't think there is any issue with people wanting to improve their neighborhood.
The issue is politicians who take their taxes and spend it on projects that don't achieve this improvement. So far, the only winners in the Eastland Mall debacle were the very wealthy investors in that property. If Eastland was such a pall on the east side, they should have been held to account for the damage it did instead of being handsomely rewarded for their negligence. That is, if one believes that Eastland is responsible.
The city council and mayor were completely irresponsible with the taxpayers money.
If I'm not mistaken the city just purchased this property last August or September, right? I think it will take a few years before anyone can judge the merit of the decision. And I don't keep the books for any of the "wealthy investors" in the property, but I would imagine that most of the sellers didn't feel "handsomely rewarded". I'm not sure how many acres are out there, but the purchase price couldn't have been much more (if any) more expensive than raw land value. Even if you factor in the cost of demolition.
....And I don't keep the books for any of the "wealthy investors" in the property, but I would imagine that most of the sellers didn't feel "handsomely rewarded". ....
5471 Central Avenue LLC (Boxer Properties) - $5,264,000
Belk Inc. - $1,200,000
Higbee LANCOMS, LP (Dillard’s site) - $1,140,000
Sears, Roebuck and Co. - $2,500,000
Eastland Fields LLC (JC Penney site) - $1,200,000
EJG Charlotte LLC (Firestone site) - $ 925,000
H/V Central Avenue LLC (Hollywood Video site) - $ 925,000
The Boxer property was purchased by that group in 2010 for just $2M. They were unable to sell it and unable to develop it. Now the city pays them a 163% profit for a distress property. I'd say that a 163% profit is very handsome indeed.
On top of this tax money wasted, since there is no plan, the city also loses whatever property taxes it was collecting on the albatross. The sad thing about all of this, is the city has the power to condemn it, take it without payment, and tear it down at the owner's cost if it was abandoned and causing problems for the area.
They were completely irresponsible in my book. The proposed movie studio? Will never happen.
H/V Central Avenue LLC (Hollywood Video site) - $ 925,000
The Boxer property was purchased by that group in 2010 for just $2M. They were unable to sell it and unable to develop it. Now the city pays them a 163% profit for a distress property. I'd say that a 163% profit is very handsome indeed.
On top of this tax money wasted, since there is no plan, the city also loses whatever property taxes it was collecting on the albatross. The sad thing about all of this, is the city has the power to condemn it, take it without payment, and tear it down at the owner's cost if it was abandoned and causing problems for the area.
They were completely irresponsible in my book. The proposed movie studio? Will never happen.
We all know about Boxer, which is precisely why I used a qualifier... "Most". The others probably took a relative bath.
I'm not sure that condemnation would have been an option. The property was well-maintained for an empty structure. Have you written your council representative to ask any specifics, or are you relying on "the news"? I'd expect you, of all people, to be suspicious of any story other than the confirmed and corroborated truth.
There are strong signals of a robust recovery in the near future. This council may back into a home run yet...
.... Have you written your council representative to ask any specifics, or are you relying on "the news"? I'd expect you, of all people, to be suspicious of any story other than the confirmed and corroborated truth.
I am. Thank you for noticing.
The information I posted came directly from the city council meeting minutes of July 23, 2012. They did not come from a media outlet. There was a long discussion related to Eastland including all the comments from the locals. One very informed fellow spelled out all of the financial repercussions of this move. I recommend you read these minutes if you want to know more yourself. They are very informative.
Unfortunately, as for the actual determination on how these figures were obtained, the city-council & mayor yet again pulled the "closed door" trick on that and therefore they were not recorded in the published minutes. There is no transparency though I do give them credit for posting the minutes of the public portion as well as video & audio of the meeting.
The city is considering purchasing the Eastland Mall for $13.2 million. The deal includes the main mall, the anchors, and some of the outlaying properties (possibly the old Harris Teeter). The deal needs to close by August 31.
How do you guys feel about this? Sounds like the city wants to demolish the mall, and then re-develop the area into something else (probably mixed-use).
From Mall to something new and different (film studio) back to same thing that Charlotte only knows how to build; Shopping Center and cheap housing developments. Ok, their adding in a school and a greenway. Something else we have plenty of already. Lets don't get creative here, we might step out of the box.
I drove past the area last Sunday. There were about 80-100 vendors. There were also a couple of chow wagons and a couple of police cars in the distance. It could be a good thing.
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I called it years ago
