December 30, 2008

EPA Grant

EPA has given the South Worcester Neighborhood Center monies to clean up the former City Builders location and the future home of Southgate Place. Click here for the press release. It even refers to the project as being 19 rentals and 8 townhouses (with open green space?), but I digress.

Since the South Worcester Neighborhood Center is a non-profit, they do not have to pay this grant back. After completion of the clean-up, however, South Worcester is to transfer the cleaned up property to City Builders LLC, a for profit entity, of which they are to be a 51% owner.

Senator Jahn, what do you think of this?? Lets assume you have a piece of property that needs to be cleaned up, just call a local non profit and offer then 10,000 if they:
  1. take title to the property for $100
  2. have the non profit apply for an EPA grant
  3. after they get the monies and do all the clean up
  4. take title back for $10,000

Think the legal term that comes to mind is referred to as "self-dealing".

12 comments:

jeepcj85 said...

Southgate Place is in a BL-1.0 zone. Zoning law requires that 10% of the total lot area be used for recreational purposes, excluding the 5ft buffer. Im assuming this is the green space they are referring to. Also, if the article is not a typo, perhaps the townhomes are part of the bigger building, and will be rentals with private entries rather than for sale. Official site plans would probably be available at the City Planning office.

Bill Randell said...

Very impressed!!!

Now that you say it there is a spot for a Bocci Court, that never made sense, until now...

Thank you!!!!

By the way, the whole townhouse idea is completely off the table...All that is being discussed is the single apartment building.

Again thank you...

Bill Randell said...

Jeepcj85:

Can you help me with my other question or point me in the right direction????

Can you use a non profit entity as a shell game not to repay a EPA grant?

I do not see how this can be possible... Again thanks....

Bill

Bill Randell said...

Sorry can not help myself, but can you imagine how out of touch the developer is to propose a Bocci Court for Southgate Street??? Why not fencing???

On a serious note if they knew anything about the neighborhood, it would be a basketball, volley ball or handball court.

Bill

Paulie's Point of View said...

the first Bertuccis was in Davis Square..small place with a bocci court:>) My office was next door..I played bocci every summah at the family beach house at the end of V Street in Hull, MA on Nantasket Beach..great game!

jeepcj85 said...

Who, bill, do you want to pay to clean up a brownfield property? If a developer did most projects would be cost prohibitive. EPA grants for brownfields cleanup are common even when for-profit development will take place.

Bill Randell said...

Jeepcj89:

You are right. There are alot of EPA brownfield grants to help developers.

The thing you are missing is that if you are for "profit" you need to pay the grant back. Albeit at very good terms.On the other hand if you a "non-profit" you do not have to pay the grant back at all.

It does not seem to me you can utilize the an entity's non-profit status to avoid paying back monies.

Bill

Anonymous said...

bill,
are you the "william randall" listed as a director on the swndc web site? quite an outfit if they can't spell correctly the name of one of their directors or are you such a thorn to them that they do it on purpose?

ben

Paulie's Point of View said...

who is paying for the clean up of the land that Walmart is being built on..

Bill Randell said...

Anonymous:

I was on the board of directors for approximately 6 years. Other then the summers, I showed up regularly and worked pretty hard.

The last couple years were quite tought financially and we had to make alot of tough decisions. I consistently voted against the land purchase at the corner of Hacker/Cambridge and the City Builders site. To put it mildly we had no body at the South Worcester Neighborhood Center that has any experience running multi-million dollar projects and it has showed in the results. Recently it has gotten to the point that I resigned.

South Worcester Neighborhood does a great job when it focused on human services, but they had no business getting into property development.

Bill Randell

Anonymous said...

Jeep CJ, are you saying that If Own a piece of property zoned BL-1.0 and I want use it for BL-1.0allowed business use, that I have use 10% of the lot area for recreational purposes?

The only zoning ordinance I have is a bit dated.

Would you give us a cite for that, please?

Bill, I dont know about this transferring of land to a Non profit for purposes of doing an end run around the funding sources for enviro. clean-up. It def. raises some eye brows IMO.

What bothers me though is on Mason St Worc Common Ground was awarded the winning RFP bid from the city to raze the old commercial structure on that site and build L.I.H. That was in June,2005 and bid condition was constr. commences by Sept, 2005. The only thing constructed there as of 5:30 PM Dec 31, 2008 is a fence surrounding the lot.

Now they have razed the old building and they have done the for profit/non profit cluster ++++ in order obtain free environmental remediation.

What bothers me is in original bid the specs (as I recall)stated the property could only be transferred by the winning bidder to qualified low income owners and IMO this for profit/non profit cluster ++++ to obtain free remediation is clearly a violation of the thsi transfer clause.

So where are the city officials who are responsbile for oversight & compliance with bid reqiuremtns/specs?

Also on this issue, where is:

a. City council
b. City Manager
c. Office of Planning&Comm Dev.
d. Joe Early
e. The State Inspector Gen'l
f. Scott Zoback(Womag reporter)
g. T&G's Mr Cayman reporter
h. TV 4's Eye Team
i. Joe Bergantino

So:

a. Worc Comm GRd. has taken 3+ yrs and still doesnt have this project off the ground yet

b. SWNC still has 82% of their inventory on Cambrigde/Hacker Sts unsold.

c. Now SWNC wants to erect another 25 units a mere stones throw away from Cambridge Hacker project.

d. Meanwhile Holy Croos college has stepped up to the plate to keep the foreclosure wolves away from Cambridge Hacker Sts.


Does anyone wonder why people dont want to send taxes down to Jim Mcgovern in Washington. Jim Magovern should have some low income housing built on Quinsigamond Comm Coll. campus, almost opposite his house.

Tomorrow, I'll have an update on Palmirei Shovelgate (Winter 08-09, Storm 3) and maybe a few others

BTW I see Paulie was all shoveled out at 5:30 tonight Dec 31, 2008. When Paulie leaves town with his women, he delegates his shoveling responsilbities....good Man Paulie boy.

Anonymous said...

Also I was on 495 late this morning in middle of the snow storm and heard on radio about Barney Frank (a.k.a. Hot Bottom per H. Carr) and his $10B low income housing proposal and even going only about 40 mph I almost side swiped a 60 ft double bottom unit to my right b/c I was so beside myself.

Does anyone wonder why we're Called MASS-HOLES BY those IN OTHER STATES WHEN WE continue to send clowns like this to Washington D.C. Mr Sub-prime himself.