Development news round-up
July 2, 2009
It’s getting to be the dog days of summer, folks, when business-y types would rather hit the beach than sit down with their CPAs for mid-year reports, but here at TDR we’re trying to keep things interesting for the easily distracted. So next Friday, when you return from your July 4th weekend loafing, look out for our Commercial Real Estate focus section, which will appear in the July 10 edition of the paper. In the meantime, here’s what happened in the last 2 weeks
* Opus East, the Rockville-based developer that was going to build a massive complex at Aberdeen Proving Ground, first backed out of that project, then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
* Baltimore sold 98 acres it owned in Anne Arundel County to Steve McAllister, a former national head of Greenpeace, so he can build 1,500 condos, apartments and town homes near Curtis Bay Industrial Area. Nearby business owners aren’t happy.
* Venerable
* The Real Estate Wonk reminds us that Monday was the first day to apply for the Newly Constructed Dwelling Tax Credit, an incentive for
* Rumors abound in the downtown commercial brokerage community about upcoming deals and space-hungry tenants. The BBJ’s got accounting firm RSM McGladrey scouting some space, although one broker told On The Record that they’ve been looking for over a year.
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2009/06/29/story5.html
* The MTA got $3 million in stimulus bucks to knock down a portion of West Baltimore’s infamous “Highway to Nowhere” and remake it as a parking lot for the to-be-redeveloped West Baltimore MARC train stop, while the city got $17.5 million to weatherize city homes.
* A city judge heard arguments about why he should or should not throw out the city’s reverse-redlining suit against mortgage lender Wells Fargo. A decision on the motion to dimiss is expected shortly. Like, any minute now, actually.
* Sun architecture critic Ed Gunts gets excited about what might become the “Highlandtown Loft District,” a bunch of inter-related development activity in Southeast Baltimore that includes the Highlandtown Middle School conversion, which Montel Williams was this close to spearheading.
Big eminent domain case in New York has Baltimore connection
July 1, 2009
News reports indicate that one of the highest-profile eminent domain lawsuits in the country will go all the way to New York’s highest court, where it will be argued in October.
Developer Bruce Ratner, of Forest City Ratner, wants the Empire State Development Corp. to condemn and seize dozens of properties in a low-density neighborhood near an old rail yard in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, so that he can build a new arena for the relocation of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, plus 16 high-rise apartment towers. He already has a $200 million-a-year sponsorship deal for the arena with investment bank Barclays. The project is called Atlantic Yards (and Barclays Arena), named for the disused rail yards on the western edge of Brooklyn where it is proposed.
Although about half of the buildings needed for the more-than-$1-billion project have already been demolished, in August of last year, nine property owners sued the ESDC, saying that the grounds for eminent domain were not valid. That suit was dismissed, then appealed, which brings us to today.
Forest City Enterprises, the developer’s parent company, is controlled by the Ratner family, and is also running the show over in East Baltimore, where so far more than 800 families have been displaced by Forest City Science + Technology Group’s East Baltimore Science + Technology Park. In this case, Forest City has leveraged the support of Baltimore’s housing department to condemn and seize hundreds of properties, many of them using the controversial “quick-take” method of eminent domain. We published a series about this type of thing last year.
One of the main arguments made by the anti-Ratner camp is that the benefits of the whatever Ratner could bring to Atlantic Yards are negligible compared to the destruction of the neighborhood. A number of similar cases (.pdf), even in Maryland, have used the same rationale, and it really gets to the heart of the matter as far as eminent domain is concerned: According the landmark Kelo vs. City of New London, if the economic benefits of a project are not so great that they’re in the “public interest,” then an eminent domain taking is unconstitutional.
Every developer has a business model, I guess, but when you really think about it, I wonder just how many companies there are in the country, aside from Forest City, that make a living out of seizing large swaths of property that they’ve convinced local authorities are “blighted” and redeveloping them as mega-projects like this. Are they so few and far between that there’s no consensus on the pros and cons of such a model? A cost-benefit analysis of property taxes versus incentives dangled? A comprehensive look into the profitability of the sorts of projects that come and replace the so-called blight?
Yeah, it sounds like a book idea, I know, but I’m going to look into this.
Sphere: Related ContentHelp wanted at the PSC
June 30, 2009
Calling all energy wonks — Maryland’s Public Service Commission is looking for someone to fill a seat on its five-member commission following the departure of Commissioner Allen M. Freifeld at the end of his term earlier this month.
The PSC won’t actually be doing the hiring, but it is soliciting applications through July 8 for Gov. Martin O’Malley, who will appoint someone. The pay is not shabby at $130,050.
Here’s what the PSC does by law:
“Supervise and regulate public service companies to ensure their operation is in the interest of the public; to promote adequate, economical, and efficient delivery of utility services in the State without unjust discrimination; and to enforce compliance with the requirements of law by public service companies.”
The job posting lists no job requirements, but applicants should probably have a background in energy, telecommunication, water or taxi issues.
Sphere: Related ContentOne email marketer catches on
June 29, 2009
First, a disclaimer: I don’t send marketing emails on behalf of The Daily Record, so if any of my complaints sound familiar, please - contact our marketing person.
Now then. I’ve been having some fun this summer - a little too much. A recent spate of “red tag” shopping Web sites (Gilt Groupe, RedTagCrazy.com, Rue La La) have eaten away at my discretionary spending, and it’s time to take matters into my own hands. I’m cutting them off at the source: my inbox. If the “too-good-to-pass-up” deals never get delivered - well, problem solved!
I started off my morning by unsubscribing to all the usual suspects - Target.com, RedTagCrazy.com, Payless Shoesource. Then a new enemy appeared: Ann Taylor Loft, tempting with “Everything Under $50″ and “Perfect Styles for the Holiday Weekend.” I had too much self-control at this point, and I hurredly clicked “unsubscribe.”
That’s when a choice appeared I’d never seen before.
“Inbox overwhelmed?” It asked politely. “You can stay informed of news and special offers…and still give your inbox a break. To receive only one LOFT email update a week, click ‘change frequency’ below.“
Not a bad idea there. I didn’t take ATL up on it - after all, I was on a mission - but I like where they’re going with this. Maybe once my new wardrobe’s worn out, I’ll invite them back into my inbox.
I know we have some marketing professionals who follow along, so I ask: Do clients usually find this approach successful? How many emails per week is too much? 2? 3? 5?
The Red Line–two opposing views
June 26, 2009
In today’s paper, Andy Rosen wrote about the ‘dash for cash’ for the planned Red Line in Baltimore and Purple Line in Montgomery County. The Maryland Transit Administration is preparing to bring each project closer to being ready to compete for federal money in the fall.
Here in Baltimore, the Red Line is becoming more and more of a contentious issue. Donald C. Fry of the Greater Baltimore Committee is a strong supporter of it, saying that it will provide a boost for business, reduce travel time and create jobs. He projects that it would attract 42,000 commmuters daily, resulting in 67,000 less vehicle miles traveled.
But lawmakers and homeowners in Canton are speaking out–the argument being that a surface line on the already bustling Boston St. would increase congestion, decrease the value of some of the waterfront property and lead to a loss in business because of a lack of parking.
Darryl Jurkiewicz, President of the Canton Community Association, has stressed that residents are in support of a mass transit line running through Canton, but with a hope that it would be underground.
A rally has been organized by community members against the surface Red Line for Monday morning between 6-8 am at the intersection of Boston St. and Lakewood.
Watch the videos below of Fry speaking at a press conference last fall in support of the line and Jurkiewicz taking me on a tour around Canton showing me how detrimental it could be.
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Business
Eye on Annapolis
Business posts- Development news round-up
- Big eminent domain case in New York has Baltimore connection
- Help wanted at the PSC
- One email marketer catches on
- The Red Line–two opposing views
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- Green Drinks event invades Little Havana
- Annapolis parking fee increase delayed - not scrapped
- My date with the spacemen
- Power in numbers
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