The City of Worcester is going to be investing $64,000,000 into City Square through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts DIF (District Improvement Financing). The plan here is that City Square is going to be a huge success and all the increased tax revenues from City Square will make the payments on the $64,000,000 thus costing the tax-payers of Worcester nothing.
Personally I think it is good investment, but like any investment there are risks. That is where I think the City administration made a mistake when they did not accurately explain the risk. In fact I heard many times how these bonds (64,000,000 dollars worth) will cost the tax-payers nothing. This is true if, and only if, we get development to get the increased tax revenues, which I think will be $4,000,000 per year in payments. If we don't get the developments, the payments need to be made and they will come out of the General Fund.
Where are we now? We need development now!!! Lets get Hanover going on the new offices and the new Cancer Center going and give them whatever TIF's they want. If we don't , we will be choking on $64,000,000 in bonds.
From there we need to hope that these two projects are an anchor that attracts more developments, which means more taxes. Future developments , maybe they will not need TIF's, maybe they will? This is all part of the negotiating process.
Bottom line of bottom line is that we can not sit around and deal with this like Pharmasphere on Canterbury Street or Mason Street and do nothing for 5 years. We need developing to get started yesterday, we have $64,000,000 in bonds that we need to be paid back one way or another.
Same Time Next Year
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It’s been nearly a year since I wrote about the problems that come from
having 11 bosses who are not on the same page about anything, as well as
suggestion...
5 months ago
9 comments:
Couple of key phrases stolen from this thread:
"The.... PLAN.... here is that City Square is going to be a huge success and all the increased tax revenues....". PLAN being the operative term. City s/n/b in the speculative real est. bizz. Should have been contracts signed for dev'ment of all of cIty Sq b4 city borrows $64M
This is true if, and only if, we get development to get the increased tax revenues, which I think will be $4,000,000 per year in payments. "IF" being the operative term. Odd how the acronym TIF is built on the word "if"
"We need to hope that these two projects are an anchor" "HOPE" being teh operative term.
Not pickin' on ya here..........just pointing out realities here.
So no one answered my post of a couple of daize ago? The razed parkign garage is goign to open up a huge hole on Worc Center Blvd. I trust once North Amer. Site Dev'ment (demo guy)puulls out of there the hole will be filled immediately.
Is it possible the city has just about been forced to start some work (razing) on City Sq just to keep City Sq alive, yet the new constr will not follow up immediately. I sure hope not.
Jahn
I agree with you??
That is why I have been warning that there are risks to this "plan". And the City admin made a mistake not explaining the risk of this investment. We are most definately in the real estate business now to the tne of $64,000,000 million dollars.
Question, what can we do now?? We have already spent I believe 25 million (not usre on that number).
We need to get these two projects done. Give them the friggin TIF and get this project started.
Jahn
I really do understand and agree with some of your points, but we are way past some of the things youare bringing up..
We are in already. it is way too late to question whether we should be doing this now or not without contracts in hand. We already did it.
Bill
BIll does city have possesion of thr 64M$ or will city get it in installments as the work progresses?
Already in for $25M? iS THIS THE FOR THE PARKING GARAGE that the is (or was) going to be build for Berklley.....i.e .... same deal for the Hanover RE Dev'ment Group?
And....speaking of the other Hanover....as in Hand It Over Theatre.........todays T&G (5-22) handing out more kudos to The Hand It Over Theatre on the Op-ed page. Last paragraph of this short puff piece expounding on how The Hand it Over Spent $31M rehabbing the place. Note what is not said where all the money came from e.g. Gubmint hand outs, gubmint loan gaurantees, private donations, and about a $1M per year gift in real esate taxes not paid b/c city hall was asleep when they drafted the documents for the teh gubmint give aways........ie.e they failed to stipulate that The Hand It Over not convert be a non profit...so much for spin off from Federal Sq.
On tap next.......teh non profit Hand It over Restaurant............you say no way??.............well there's a certain fraternal organization offering breakfast every day and/or weekends.......how'd ya like to be a local breakast eatery nearby this non profit eatery....competing with your restaurant.
Jahn good questions and I don't know the answers
These are exactly the ytpe of questions our city council should ask
Wonder if the city building dept can tell us if a permit is under review and/or issued for new consrtuction, once a portion of the old parking garage is razed?
Like you said, we dont want this to turn into another CAnterbury/Pharmasphere or as a T&G blogger has pointed out, another skating rink.
I CANNOT STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF A NEW BUILDING RISING FROM THE ASHES OF THE PARKING GARAGE, IMMEDIATLEY AND SEAMLESSLY ONCE THIS PHASE OF DEMOLITION IS COMPLETED.
The UNUM building and the Cancer Center building will be taking shape as soon as the demolition has been done. That is why if you saw the paper last week with the demolition schedule, it was broken into 4 sections. The first 3 will be where the UNUM building will reside and the 4th section will be where the St. Vincent Cancer Center will be built (providing the CC approves the TIF tomorrow night). The actual Mall demo was planned from the start to be the last piece to be taken down.
Both of these buildings are on a tight time schedule. UNUM is looking to move in by September 2012 and St. Vincent wants to open the cancer center by January 2013.
Speaking of new development, this is from last Friday's daily WBJ update.
Merrill Lynch bullish on Worcester
http://www.wbjournal.com/news49089.html?utm_source=enews&utm_medium=Daily&utm_campaign=May+20%2C+2011+Daily
Take note of this excerpt - Merrill Lynch said the new office is part of a strategy of adding new locations in "growth regions."
Apparently Worcester is finally an attractive region for growth in the eyes of the business world. :)
David, TY. It's good to know that new constr will immedialtely follow the demolition and excellent that no demolition was undertaken until all the ducks were lined up for new constr to begin immediately.
Call me Jahn Trump, "The Permitor" but all I'd like to see (or be told by CM Obrien) is that the building permit has been issued. Also how much did they pay for it?
Also, I though Worcester has a Merrill Lynch office already. Seems to me I have seen the ML signage somewhere in Worcester. I know is that years ago they were in downtown back when it was known as Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, and Fenner. Now it is part Of Bank America, but they say it may eventually be spun off.
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