The win-win, is on East Washington.
A week or two ago, a neighbor posed this question on a listserve.
I know most are getting sick about the Edgewater discussion. Everyone on this list is well aware of the condition of the commerce on East Washington — or lack thereof. We have a newly abandoned Madison Dairy, a vacant Mautz paint factory, an almost vacant Marquip factory, Don Miller is almost completely gone, and we have a huge abandoned Union Corners development. Some influential people in this city are bending over backwards to give $16 million to a luxury hotel that will charge $300/night that none of us will ever stay in. No serious amount of long term jobs. The developer refuses to build to the standards of which the property sits, so let’s wake up and kill this project now while we have a chance, and divert this money to a stimulus package to invite real jobs to town. Let’s invite proposals for all these decaying properties and long lost jobs so that we can once again be proud to bring visitors up East Washington Avenue. I would bet the mayor never brings guests up East Washington — and it is a shame that the gateway to our city is falling apart.
This is a shameful hour for our city.
Michael Donnelly makes the same point.
If you think about it, East Washington has plenty of development potential. It has neighborhood support for development (TLNA, BUILD, others), tall (max 12 – 15 story buildings) and dense development. No shoreline zoning and waterfront development issues. It’s not in a historic district. It is in a TIF district. There’s no 1965 ordinance or problems with building in a city owned right of way. It’s ripe for the picking. Had they chosen to develop there, they wouldn’t have had all this opposition. (A full list of the Edgewater obstacles here.)
You see, developers can make it easy on themselves or they can do things the hard way. I mean, I’m sure a developer as sophisticated as Hammes Company looked into and explored all the issues they would have to face and still made the decision to move forward. I’m not sure how they ever planned to get through all the issues they had to get through, but they had to have known the challenge it would be.
And when they do things the hard way, I don’t really think its fair to complain about a “broken process”. See, the rules are there to provide predictability to the developers, something most say they value. Those who know the rules, saw this showdown coming over the landmarks ordinance (not to mention the Zoning Board of Appeals issue.)
Of course, equally challenging, is the Apex proposal. Move a Frank Lloyd Wright Landmark House? Or build on a parking ramp which may or may not be possible? Let me say again, East Washington, East Washington, East Washington. That is where we want the development. I don’t know how much more clear we could be – plans and a TIF district are in place. I don’t understand why developers take on projects that seem to be going no where when there are other opportunities (with support from neighborhoods) that are wide open.
Say it with me “EAST WASHINGTON!”
