Yesterday I had a chance to chat and sip some coffee with Jahn. One of the things we discussed was the use of the City-owned parking garage by the Hanover Theatre. Here is the story in the Telegram, click here.
This is the most interesting part:
He said the board recognized the value to the city of the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts by offering the theater 400 parking spots in Federal Plaza for 80 nights a year at $1 per space. He said the theater charges $10 for those parking spaces, which he said allows the theater a potential profit of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
I would have no problem with this if the Hanover turned around and rented these spots for $1, but to mark them up 1000%. Keep in mind this is the same entity that claimed that had all their permitting fees waived and the assessed value of their properties locked in for 7 years.
Here is a quote from Mayor Lukes:
. “It’s clear the city has to give incentives to anyone willing to invest downtown. We have been discussing the development of downtown Worcester for the last 20 years.”
We do?? The only one , who has got incentives to invest downtown is the Hanover Theatre. What if they were able to work out a program whereby downtown residents could access the city owned parking garages from 6:00PM to 6:AM for free during the week and on the week-ends? What if the City of Worcester waived permitting fees and locked in assessed values for 7 years for everyone??
WRRB/Telegram District City Council Forum 10/18
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This forum is for all district council candidates; all candidates are here
today. Format: 14 total questions, 4 questions across districts (for all
candida...
6 months ago
2 comments:
oTHER THOUGHTS on this topic:
1. I'd be curious to know what the owners of this for-profit theatre co. get for salaries. What if their salaries approximate the annual profit the theater co makes off these parking spaces in a year. 80 days x 400 spaces X $10 a pop = $320,000 and I cant even get a $400 property tax abatement for my over assessed shopping cart and cardboard box. Where's the firemen & cops & teachers on issues like this? Sleeping, appearing in court, or taking sick days?
2. Let's us not forget the cosmetic make over the city gave to this same parking garage just before the The Hand it Over Theatres grand opening last March.
3. Let us also not forget the entity that owns the theatre real estate decided in their infinite wisdom to go non profit (supposedly at the last moment b/c they couldnt handle the RE taxes on a $30M make over....talk about great planning!!). This non profit status was to be for 7yrs (as I recall?). Stay tuned 7 ears from now and see if the real estate holding enitity changes to for profit status. I am giving 5:1odds and laying $50 they re-up as a non profit again at the end of the initial period (assuming the Hand it Over is still operating after 7 yrs)
4. I wonder if the former Bijou theatre got such a lucrative deal on parking spaces or possibly even no deal at all!. Wonder if the Bijou was for profit or non- profit. Dittos for the DCU operators
5. Wonder what the new Union Station lessee will get for a deal on parking at The Garage Majal? Can you blame these property tax paying folks if they want a similar deal?
6. Should the city now forego a similar amt of money for providing add'l parking for Shrewsbury St restauranteurs?
7. God we have
a. the non profit builders erecting low income housing with littel/no parking spaces,
b. we got the city giving away parking spaces to The Hand It Over Theatre
c. we got Berkley demolishing a 1000 downtown parking spaces.
d. we have the Pearl Elm parking garage in need of a major capital make over.
e. we have 1/2 way houses all over the city that are exempt from parking space req'ments
f. And I cant even get a parking space variance for my pilfered shopping cart. BTW if I collect cans with my shopping cart, am I now subject the new pushcart ordinance.....after all I am technically selling these cans back to Bill and then to Mass Crinc and then ultimately the wholesalers for a nickel a pop. If a hot dog push cart is a vehicle then surely a shioping cart is too? Talk about the law of unintednded consequences......will the new ordiannce effectively ban canners and scrap rats from the City Landscape
Paulie, the next time you have an event downtown, you should request the council to provide you with parking for $1.00 for all your marathon runners for all day. Just hope they dont then require a detail cop for the parking garage, too. The Hanover does have a detail cop(s) right?
At the end the Bijou was non profit and it was very short sighted of the city to allow what happened to them happen and for the city not to support them in the same way they have supported some other things over the last couple years.
Last I checked their space is still there. Four years later.
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