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07/07/2011 8:30:00 PM
Ok, I find this slightly ridiculous. There are plenty of good people out there that can't afford to live in multi-million dollar homes that still need good apartments. Are we not good enough for Dallas? Is the city trying to become the next Beverly Hills, full of snobs? Seriously. Let's get some affordable housing down there to give the rest of us a chance. At least http://collegeapartmentschico.com is willing to help us out!
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Malcom Reynolds 12/01/2010 6:41:00 PM
Well, i hope that they don't squash too many of the little guys in doing their big beautiful building. We have a hard enough time as it is. http://www.gainesville-rent.com
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Star 05/21/2010 1:49:00 PM
Your entire "column" was valid, interesting, and enlightening until you decided to equate "low-income housing" with "Colored Town" and dark skin. True it is easily noticeably that Dallas is a very segregated and separatist city. I understand and agree with what you are saying. Yet a statement that equates low-income housing with colored or dark skin should be backed with statistics and hard evidence. It is a generalization without documentation which may perpetuate the ignorance and naivete that invades the mind of many non "Dark Skin" Dallasites already.
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DavisBleeder 05/13/2010 2:54:00 AM
I just heard the Hamilton's Davis Building (1309 Main) was posted for foreclosure and is now in receivership. Looks like the Hamilton House of Cards is coming down!!! Mosaic was foreclosed on last week. Now this...........whats next, their last residential building, DPL?
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MosaicBleeder 05/11/2010 9:00:00 PM
Mosaic has far more problems than just overpriced units. Their biggest problem was the developer did not soundproof the building, hallways and units in order to pocket more money. What a great developer that would put himself before the happiness/wellbeing of his tenants. Go to apartmentratings.com and read about Mosaic, the hair on the back of your neck will stand up. What a sick place.
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Scottie 05/11/2010 6:30:00 PM
Mosaic is far too expensive for Dallas.
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Tom 05/11/2010 4:50:00 PM
Downtown and Uptown Dallas already has more over-priced apartments and lofts than the market can bear. There are only so many "$30,000 a year millionaire" posers to go around. So who exactly do they think are going to buy them? It's one thing to build more and more high-end units, but until a supporting infrastructure of grocery stores, theaters, pharmacies and affordable restaurants is put into place there's little hope of any real renaissance taking place in downtown Dallas. Go to a large city like San Francisco, Chicago or New York and you'll find that each has a bustling booming downtown that doesn't die after 5pm like Dallas does.
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CRA 05/11/2010 3:57:00 AM
"Anyway, I see a lot of comment here about listening to market forces. I think MacKenzie and Lockey would agree. They listened. The market forces said, “More affordable.” And City hall said, “You’re toast.”"
JimS - Its called NIMBYISM, which means:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NIMBY or Nimby is an acronym for not in my back yard. The term (or the derivative Nimbyism) is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents/City Council to a proposal for a new development close to them. Opposing residents themselves are sometimes called Nimbies.
"I DONT WANT THOSE WORKING CLASS BLACKS AND MEXICANS IN MY BACK YARD!"
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Civil Rights Advocate 05/11/2010 3:10:00 AM
One question: where the hell has HUD been in all of this if it has been going on for years. Let me guess, cronyism, good ole boy network. Thank God a new sheriff is in town. Go Obama! Keep appointing Civil Rights Attorney's to the head of HUD, and to the Supreme Court.
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checkmate 05/10/2010 5:40:00 PM
One question: where the hell has HUD been in all of this if it has been going on for years. Let me guess, cronyism, good ole boy network. Thank God a new sheriff is in town. Go Obama! Keep appointing Civil Rights Attorney's to the head of HUD, and to the Supreme Court.
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JimS 05/08/2010 6:53:00 PM
There is an important element in this story which I neglected to get into my column or the subsequent blog item. The decision by Lockey and Mackenzie to obey the HUD rules and provide the amount of affordable housing called for in HUD’s national guideline was in good part a market decision. They told me they looked at what had been built already downtown and saw way more high-end capacity than the market wanted to absorb.
They were well aware of the weaknesses in several of the completed projects and could see, for example, that Prudential would foreclose on the Mosaic, as in fact it did this week.
They said to me, “Why provide more chocolate cake when the market already has more chocolate cake than it can eat?” So they saw a project that was more than half affordable as a good market play – something that would rent up quickly instead of going belly up.
I get the impression both of them also are people who think working people and young people are good for downtowns. And think about it. If you went to the quarter in New Orleans and all of a sudden it looked like Snyder Plaza in Highland Park, would you go back?
Downtown Dallas is frozen and sterile because the people running it are afraid of anybody who isn’t rich. It would help if they were white, too. But that’s a suburb. Actually even our suburbs are more diverse than what has been created downtown.
What we really see is an attempt at a replication of the Park Cities, where most of the decision-makers probably live. It’s their idea of cool. But they’re not cool. And they’re also not moving into it. To work for them, downtown Dallas would have to be Carmel. Which would suck.
Anyway, I see a lot of comment here about listening to market forces. I think MacKenzie and Lockey would agree. They listened. The market forces said, “More affordable.” And City hall said, “You’re toast.”
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Politico 05/08/2010 5:42:00 PM
In my humble opinion: Mayor Tom Leppert, Ron Natinsky, and Angela Hunt's political careers are over with this news. They are toast.
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Bill Rhodes Jr. 05/08/2010 5:00:00 PM
You are right on track. Ever wonder why Don Hill an his wife is the only ones going to prison when there were others involved?
Yes the city of Dallas gets the Fed monies but those of us who live in South Dallas get little or none of it.
They tell us money is available for the upgrading of our homes but when we go down to city hall, the money no longer exsist or the program has changed overnight.
Try coming down to Souh Dallas and talking to homeowners down here you may find some interesting stories.
In case you are wondering where is Bon-Ton, the real name is Rochrster Park. ( South of downtown Dallas )
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DC Barer 05/08/2010 4:39:00 PM
I just heard that a Washington Paper just picked up this story......going to find it now.
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BMC 05/07/2010 9:22:00 PM
If I know these guys in this article, and I do know them, they will sue the living shi_ out of the City and the TIF Board. I am assuming the bank will get to play too.
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bigdandfw 05/07/2010 9:04:00 PM
"See what federal government involvement costs us! If there was no HUD, that building would have been renovated by now. If the federal government was small, then we wouldn't have these shackles to deal with."
The shackles are requirements to get federal money. If the project didn't need federal money, it wouldn't have to abide by the restrictions that come with federal money.
If any of these buildings had to rely solely on the market to get the money for the renovations, fewer, if any, of these projects would be undertaken at all.
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Jubilicious 05/07/2010 8:39:00 PM
Mosaic Building foreclosure completed
07:27 AM CDT on Friday, May 7, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Lenders have completed their foreclosure on one of downtown Dallas' largest apartment projects.
Prudential Commercial Property Holding Co. took ownership this week of the 3-year-old Mosaic Building at Bryan and Akard streets, county deed records show.
The 442-unit loft apartment complex is in two converted office buildings.
Developer Hamilton Properties was unable to meet new debt terms for the building, which is more than 70 percent leased and cost more than $66 million to renovate.
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terengineer 05/07/2010 2:17:00 AM
The Grand Ricchi is a joke and will never get built as proposed. It is not feasible from multiple technical perspectives. From a professional engineering perspective it has so many flaws it is amazing that the City could be so stupid as to believe this BS, it sickens me. I have a feeling this project is already dead and it appears that people are waking up to that fact. Plus, the so called "developer" who was a grocer and a marketing guy that was a "part" of a team that built one garden apartment project near the mexican border as his only experience is not suited for this level of complexity in development. I am hearing that he is coming to that realization as well.
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Doug 05/07/2010 1:51:00 AM
See what federal government involvement costs us! If there was no HUD, that building would have been renovated by now. If the federal government was small, then we wouldn't have these shackles to deal with.
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rowdy 05/07/2010 1:40:00 AM
Y'all have gotten way off topic. The man wrote a great article. Could we get back on point?
For a long time, the City has been trying to get developers to build in Downtown Dallas. These guys seem to have had a decent plan. What happened? What's the real story behind what the City did?
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MBO 05/07/2010 12:08:00 AM
To be more on point than some of the latest bloggers, after having just read the article, sounds like City Hall is in a lot more trouble than they are aware of. You don't mess with the feds, and I should know. I hope they (City Hall) get it from both ends by both of the groups mentioned in the article. Oh yeah, sue everyone on the TIF board. What a total cluster Fu__!
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Libtards are so NAIVE 05/06/2010 11:54:00 PM
Call me a nut all you want, naive libtard, but you can't argue against indisputable facts.
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Have the facts! 05/06/2010 11:37:00 PM
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/394367_homicidelist01.html
Seattle homicides for 2008:
An informed reading reveals that blacks committed 14 of the 28 killings in Seattle that year. Blacks make up 8% of Seattle.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/413827_homicide05.html
Seattle homicides for 2009.
An informed reading reveals that twelve of the 21 murders in Seattle in 2009 were committed by blacks, only 8% of Seattle. Therefore over half the murders in Seattle are committed by blacks, even though blacks make up a tiny percentage of Seattle.
Of the 27 officers that were shot and killed by criminals in the last 20 years in King and Pierce county, 21 of them were shot by black men, even though black men make up less than 3% of the combined populations of those counties.
Let's look at some stats in Atlanta. According to cityrating.com Atlanta's population is 431,043. There are about 149 murders per year in Atlanta (4.5 times the national average).
Let's check out Portland, OR with a population of 545,271. Portland, with a population over 100,000 more than Atlanta, has about 27 murders.
Portland = 76% white, only about 7% black
Atlanta = 31% white, 61% black.
How about New York City?
http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map
New York Times - New York City Interactive Homicide Map:
Blacks = 60% of the killers, 60% of the victims
Whites = 7% of the killers, 8% of the victims
Blacks = 26% of NYC population
Whites = 35% of NYC population
-------------------------------------------------
How about San Francisco, the enlightened liberal progressive paradise?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/02/BAT01D7H71.DTL
Dirty secret of black-on-Asian violence is out
C.W. Nevius
San Francisco Gate / San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, May 2, 2010
“"In 85 percent of the physical assault crimes, the victims were Asian and the perpetrators were African American".
To help put these numbers in the proper perspective, keep in mind that blacks make up only about 4% of San Francisco.
So what do we surmise with these stats? Answer: More black people equals more murders.
As Descartes put it, "It is characteristic of the most stringent censorships that they give credence to the very ideas they seek to suppress."
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Facts for naive libtarded "pro 05/06/2010 11:33:00 PM
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/394367_homicidelist01.html
Seattle homicides for 2008:
An informed reading reveals that blacks committed 14 of the 28 killings in Seattle that year. Blacks make up 8% of Seattle.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/413827_homicide05.html
Seattle homicides for 2009.
An informed reading reveals that twelve of the 21 murders in Seattle in 2009 were committed by blacks, only 8% of Seattle. Therefore over half the murders in Seattle are committed by blacks, even though blacks make up a tiny percentage of Seattle.
Of the 27 officers that were shot and killed by criminals in the last 20 years in King and Pierce county, 21 of them were shot by black men, even though black men make up less than 3% of the combined populations of those counties.
Let's look at some stats in Atlanta. According to cityrating.com Atlanta's population is 431,043. There are about 149 murders per year in Atlanta (4.5 times the national average).
Let's check out Portland, OR with a population of 545,271. Portland, with a population over 100,000 more than Atlanta, has about 27 murders.
Portland = 76% white, only about 7% black
Atlanta = 31% white, 61% black.
How about New York City?
http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map
New York Times - New York City Interactive Homicide Map:
Blacks = 60% of the killers, 60% of the victims
Whites = 7% of the killers, 8% of the victims
Blacks = 26% of NYC population
Whites = 35% of NYC population
-------------------------------------------------
How about San Francisco, the enlightened liberal progressive paradise?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/02/BAT01D7H71.DTL
Dirty secret of black-on-Asian violence is out
C.W. Nevius
San Francisco Gate / San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, May 2, 2010
“"In 85 percent of the physical assault crimes, the victims were Asian and the perpetrators were African American".
To help put these numbers in the proper perspective, keep in mind that blacks make up only about 4% of San Francisco.
So what do we surmise with these stats? Answer: More black people equals more murders.
As Descartes put it, "It is characteristic of the most stringent censorships that they give credence to the very ideas they seek to suppress."
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ChorusGirl 05/06/2010 11:27:00 PM
Living in Dallas my whole life and now reading this article, it confirms all of those small little feelings I've had inside about my city. It's vile, and yet I was forced to accept it. Growing up in Oak Cliff in the 80's, I was forced into believing that some day we would "Move on up" to living north of the river. Until then, we'd have to mumble quickly when someone asked up where we lived. The river and I30 have to be the boldest defining lines I have ever seen. I cannot believe our own City Hall is what is preserving this geographical discrimination! I mean, I CAN believe it because everytime I read your article, Jim, it makes me sick that I still live in this crooked town. (I love what you have to say, I just hate that there is that much to say...) When I finally traveled to other cities as an adult, I realized that what our city has/does is not like any other city. It's like realizing at a friends family holiday gathering that not everybody has to screw eachother over before sitting down to dinner. "You mean, you don't do things this way? Oh..." It's embarrassing and frustrating to be a young professional and have the choice to live near downtown in either a scummy area you can afford, or live in a "fancy-schmancy" bulding that takes your whole paycheck. I realize now, that's not how things should be and everyone who told me to accept it as a child was beat-down and wrong. It's a shame.
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Facts for naive libtards 05/06/2010 11:26:00 PM
Historianut - your hysterical shriek of "KKK" does nothing to make the fact that blacks commit at least 75% of the murders in Dallas (even though Dallas is only 26% black) go away.
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Facts 05/06/2010 9:47:00 PM
Fact: Blacks commit at least 75% of the murders in Dallas every year, even though blacks make up only about 26% of Dallas' population. Racial profiling makes perfect sense to everyone but the most delusional libtarded "progressives".
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James Simmons 05/06/2010 8:51:00 PM
Take it one step further. Here's LTV Tower, which according to the latest plan would be converted to 300 residential rental units. LTV Tower sits right behind Mosaic, another multi-family high rise which has never had an occupancy rate higher than the low 30 percentages, and that recently entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy because the low occupancy wasn't enough to pay the bills. So I beg to ask, how much sense does it make to build yet another high rise apartment building when the one right next door can't lease most of its units?
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bmike189 05/06/2010 8:22:00 PM
I'm really at a loss. So many of the comments here seem to be nothing more than bashing the "rich" whoever they are. Most people with money have worked very hard to get it. Isn't that laudable?
I realize the point of Jim's article is that the city/developers may be taking HUD money and not then not living up to their part of the bargain, and if true that is not a good thing.
But to me the bigger question is why do all of you think, I'll use your terms, that the "working class", and "poor" should get to live in an expensive area for a bargain rate? If your desire is to have a deluxe apartment in the sky then work harder, educate and improve yourself in order to find a better job, or start a business.
Isn't that ability to remake and improve yourself part of what makes this a great country?
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DC Man 05/06/2010 8:10:00 PM
I agree with you Axe, the Dems are going to have a field day with Leppert regarding discrimination, racism, and segregation in his back yard, by his politicians, in his office.
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Karen 05/06/2010 5:51:00 PM
I've got news for City Hall. The mega-rich don't want to live in a converted high-rise in downtown. Otherwise, they would not have their mansions in Park Cities.
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devils_advocate 05/06/2010 5:38:00 PM
Let me explain a couple of things. @fuzzy wuzzy: what I meant was "is the city giving money to Forest City and the Hamiltons and NOT getting affordable housing in return?" That is yet to be answered because both the projects I mentioned have not started construction yet. That would be criminal if they turned around and did not provide those affordable units they promised. @flabbergasted: Of course I believe 100% that there should be affordable units downtown for people of every race, color and religion (I often wonder why there are no Mosques or Jewish temples downtown). My problem is with building ONE BIG affordable housing structure. It did not work in Chicago because it ended up turning into a slum. What other thriving downtowns are doing is SPREADING THEM throughout the city so that low-income families can live among the more affluent. I believe that is a better solution than the one you're proposing.
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Cap 05/06/2010 5:35:00 PM
On Rudy Bush's city hall blog today he reported, that a woman on her way to work at 6am this morning was shot in the head during an attempted robbery, right beside City Hall in downtown Dallas.
Instead of wanting this "fancy" downtown that has people shooting innocent hard working people in the head on the way to work, how about having a lot of working class people that go to work early in the morning so the streets would be full - that would be the best deterrent, so we could first have a safe downtown before your elitist downtown that you so aspire for, City Hall. Your just a bunch of idiots that don't have a clue because you don't have a plan. Get a plan, idiots.
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axe 05/06/2010 4:59:00 PM
This should really help Leppert to win that Senate seat that he covets........the democratic machine will eat him alive.........great!
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Clancey 05/06/2010 4:53:00 PM
Wow, sounds like those cockroaches at City Hall better be scurrying to find a crack in the baseboards.
-------
Thanks. You restated the Q I asked perfectly.
Jim, am I correct, they're not only not scurrying, they don't see any reason to?
That may be the real story about this, the scrap yard, etc. It's just the Observer, ignore them. (That's not a comment on the impact of the Observer, but a suggestion of the arrogance at City Hall.)
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larry 05/06/2010 4:48:00 PM
Jim - Didn't you write an article a few weeks back about the City asking an Assistant Secretary of HUD for help with the Trinity River problems? Boy, talk about biting the hand that feeds you. I'm sure that federal official is really motivated to help the City........sure.
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Curious George 05/06/2010 4:27:00 PM
Who appointed all the TIF Board members?
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clara 05/06/2010 4:18:00 PM
Jim S.
How did the Mayor Pro Tem feel about this affordable housing project? How did MPT vote? Does he like this better than that scrap metal yard?
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tif taf and riffraff 05/06/2010 3:50:00 PM
This is Schutze writing at his best. Everybody wants a vibrant downtown life, like other cities have. Well, other cities have grown up like coral reefs with rent control so that a variety of people can live in and around city centers. Who stays on the street after nightfall? The people who live in those areas going for groceries and eating at cafes and picking up laundry or coming home from work. Get with it, Dallas.
Do we want more high-security prisons for the affluent, who socialize and travel in ways that enable them in avoiding contact with poor people (you know, the people who agree to be invisible when they're serving serving drinks and food at gatherings for people who matter)?
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Pete 05/06/2010 6:53:00 AM
Wow, sounds like those cockroaches at City Hall better be scurrying to find a crack in the baseboards.
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magman 05/06/2010 6:27:00 AM
Dallas Morning News would never cover a story like this (I mean from the proper perspective, of course). They should change their name to Dallas "City Hall" Morning News because they are controlled by City Hall. So why not? Robert Dechard would fire any reporter that got near it, once again from the proper perspective, like the truth, especially since one of his executives at Belo is (Dan Blizzard) who sits on the bloody TIF Board. How about that as a way to cover up the mess created by this TIF Board? This is getting really smelly. Now i am sure one of the reporters will cover this at DMN and defend the CIty of Dallas' actions...........upon Dechard's and Blizzard's orders, after they get the call from their compadre at City Hall.
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downtown reg mon 05/06/2010 5:31:00 AM
CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? LARRY GOOD, WHO IS AN ARCHITECT THAT ALSO SITS ON THE TIF BOARD AND IS THE HEAD OF THE TIF BOARD BY ALL ACCOUNTS, IS THE ARCHITECT OF RECORD ON THE JACKSON SQUARE PROJECT PROPOSED BY FOREST CITY, AND THAT DEAL, FROM WHAT I HEARD IS PREPARING TO GO BEFORE THE TIF BOARD TO GET A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR TIF. NOW, I ASK YOU, IS THIS NOT FLAT OUT FU___ING CRIMINAL? THE PROBLEMS FOR THIS TIF BOARD ARE JUST BEGINNING AND TAKE THIS TO THE BANK, THIS TIF BOARD WILL NOT BE AROUND FOR LONG. THE GUYS IN THIS ARTICLE NEED TO SUE THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF EACH MEMBER OF THE TIF BOARD, STARTING WITH LARRY (FU___ING) GOOD, THEN TAKE THE CITY OF DALLAS TO THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM FOR A WAKE UP CALL. RING THEIR BELL, GUYS.
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redline 05/06/2010 4:50:00 AM
For those who want to know the TIF Board Members, hit the ink below and then go to page 55 for Downtown Connection TIF Board Members:
http://www.ci.dallas.tx.us/cso/pdf/boardmembers.pdf
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Grace 05/06/2010 4:40:00 AM
Jim - I've read your wonderful book "The Accomodation". This article sounds a little like deja vu all over again. Unfortunately, sometimes history DOES repeat itself.........will we never learn?
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Akin 05/06/2010 4:38:00 AM
Take it from an attorney: in a case like this, City Hall is in serious trouble. Soveriegn immunity does not apply or protect a government entity when federal laws have been violated. I am sure attorney's have so advised the City.
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undesireable1 05/06/2010 4:14:00 AM
Ahhh... devils_advocate, according to umovefree.com, rents at the Mercantile start a little north of the "affordable" range. I grabbed this off their site: "MERCANTILE PLACE ON MAIN in DALLAS TX boasts 20 floor plans with market rents starting at $1341 and going up to $2835" Hmmm... you make a great point, but I don't think it wasn't the one you intended. You might want to try again and remember the part about there not being ANY affordable units in downtown before you begin.
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MBO 05/06/2010 4:10:00 AM
This is great stuff to use against Mayor Leppert when he decides to run for whatever, because the buck always stops with the boss. Mayor Leppert, stand up and be accountable for this mess that you have gotten the City into - you coward, along with your staff that obeys your every command.
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Clancey 05/06/2010 4:08:00 AM
Jim, I ask this as a serious question: has any of your reporting on this and recent stories prompted any major changes? This is a story that deserves somebody on the Council raising Hell. Is that likely to happen? Other than Angela Hill, is it that the Council is too stupid, have drunk the Kool-Aid, or just don't care? "Another Observer story. It'll blow over ...?"
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LindaRawls 05/06/2010 4:04:00 AM
Colored folk stay south of I30. Whities stay north of the line or you might get shot, by them colored folk. I cannot believe this is going on at City Hall. Segregation is still alive and well in the SOUTH, DALLAS TEXAS THAT IS. DISGRACEFULL AND EMBARRASING, BUT TYPICAL OF TEXANS.
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B-Law 05/06/2010 3:55:00 AM
This seems simple to analyze: the City of Dallas took federal funds and agreed to abide by HUD's federal guidelines (in writing via certifications), then the City did what they wanted to with the money, which was to say, "screw you feds, nobody tells us what to do, regardless if we take your damn money", then they used the money in a way that has created no affordable units in downtown Dallas and killed these guys in the process of discriminating. I see the wrongdoing and the trouble that the City of Dallas is in, now the question is: How many projects downtown has been a beneficiary of HUD's federal funds and did not abide by the law? I pulled the 300 million from the article but that seems way to high. Provided some of the projects have received federal funds downtown, why dont those projects have affordable units in them? Help Schutze?
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undesireable1 05/06/2010 3:51:00 AM
What? The city actually said to HUD things like... the TIF has goals other than affordable housing, such as "upgrading the image of the area" and the downtown TIF has a "desire not to concentrate a high density of affordable housing in any one area or any one building." There are apartment buildings all over the city full of units starting at $500. I guess the TIF board thinks people like the people living in those units don't belong in downtown. Hey, thanks TIF board, I live in one of those buildings with units starting at $500 and until now I didn't even know my image needed upgrading.
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devils_advocate 05/06/2010 3:50:00 AM
But there is another side to this story, and that's the fact that there are other downtown buildings that have applied for HUD loans that DO have the support of City Hall. I believe they are the Mercantile Continental and the Atmos Lofts. They are much smaller projects compared to the "Grand Ricchi" but they conform to what the TIF board wants (affordable housing units that are more spread out).
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wink wink nod nod 05/06/2010 3:44:00 AM
Wait a minute.........there are NO AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS in Downtown Dallas?.........what, may I ask, have the magicians at City Hall done with the $300 Million that they received from Uncle Sam.........it seems like that is where this investigation needs to start.........maybe they will be using that money to fix the trinity levees.........they're outta control!
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JimS 05/06/2010 2:56:00 AM
TIF annual report:
http://www.dallas-ecodev.org/SiteContent/66/documents/Incentives/TIFs/Downtown/DowntownConnection_annualreport.pdf
TIF board members:
01 KIRBY WHITE W M APPOINTED 01/06/2010
02 VACANT
03 MYRON MIMS B M =HOLDOVER Dallas Member
CHAIR
04 ROBERT L. GOOD W M REAPPOINTED 01/06/2010
05 JOHN ZOGG JR. W M =HOLDOVER Dallas Member
06 SHELLE SILLS W F REAPPOINTED 01/06/2010
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bobo 05/06/2010 2:35:00 AM
There is an undertone of racism in this story which I find very troubling. When the Mayor wanted the $500 Million Convention Center Hotel deal, he found a way to get it done (and to convince the taxpayers to approve it). But, when it comes to a project like this that could really help working class people, the City just shuts it down.
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buddy 05/06/2010 2:28:00 AM
HMMMMMMMM.......POINT.........COUNTERPOINT.........The City wasn't happy with an affordable housing project like these guys were proposing........so they (worked with the bank to) make sure the building got into the hands of another developer who would convert it into "The Grand Ricchi"........."The GREAT WEALTHY DALLAS"........it is obvious where the City's priorities are......shameful.
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allright 05/06/2010 2:22:00 AM
The last people these guys should go to is the CITY's Auditor Office........these are the same guys that are cooking the books on the crime statistics in Dallas.........get the FBI involved......they're probably still investigating corruption at City Hall........maybe that is what is going on here??????
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Stan 05/06/2010 1:47:00 AM
$500 per month apartments would have leased up in the first day or two given the current recession we are in. Why would the City do this? It would have provided a great location to hard working class people. What is wrong with that? I think the people over at City Hall need to actually get off their ass's and walk downtown, its a ghost town, we need all kinds of people walking around using services and buying things. Stupid! Shortsighted, racist, discriminatory and damn right dumb.
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Bopeep 05/06/2010 1:38:00 AM
What a copout for the City to blame it all on the tif board. Doesn't the City of Dallas Council appoint all of the members of the tif board? If so, sue them also. As far as segregation of the south and north......its very true and I would know.....I live it.
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Schooler 05/06/2010 1:20:00 AM
This is what happens when you have so many cooks in the kitchen at city hall. All the cooks have different agendas and it causes huge mistakes that end up getting them into a mess like this. I agree with the author, they have serious problems.
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Cincoman 05/06/2010 1:05:00 AM
Does the nonsense ever stop at City Hall or what? Mayor Leppert sure can make his developer buddies happy with City subsidies (i.e. Jack Matthews), such as the Convention Center Hotel. Jack Matthew's had never developed a hotel and then because of his buddy, Leppert, he gets to build the 550 million dollar hotel for the City of Dallas and get paid over 300k per month, yeah, per month, not per year. Lets say it again 300k per month, for a guy that had never developed a hotel, and in the BS bidding process, there were multiple huge names that had developed many hotels. Can you say cronyism.
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SBP 05/06/2010 12:53:00 AM
Why cant City Hall understand the simple concept of affordable housing in downtown Dallas? Its simple, go to other cities of this size and use your eyes. Shame on them for doing this.
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Lacey Paul 05/06/2010 12:44:00 AM
If this is true, it seems they need to add the individual TIF board members to the lawsuit when it happens!!!
Sue the hell out of them.......I would!!!
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dalltax 05/06/2010 12:36:00 AM
City Hall is blaming all of this on the TIF Board! Can you publish all of the TIF Board members, so we can see who is to blame? I would hate to be on that Board!!!
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DallTax 05/06/2010 12:31:00 AM
The City of Dallas is blaming all of this on the TIF Board - Who is on the TIF Board? Can you publish that information as well? Sounds like the City is using the TIF board members as their escape goat!
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Concerned Citizen 05/06/2010 12:24:00 AM
Schutze - Can you find out the voting records of the politicos in City Hall on this project and print it for all to see? I want to know exactly who killed this project so it can be used later.
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flabbergasted 05/06/2010 12:09:00 AM
I'm flabbergasted.............what was the City thinking when it made this brilliant move..........this may even rival the tollway between the levees............stupidity!
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skidoo 05/06/2010 12:02:00 AM
Wait.....tell me again.......these two guys were trying to do the right thing and FOLLOW THE LAW.........boy, the folks at City Hall showed them.......that won't work here in Dallas......Dallas' leaders must have been laughing the whole time as they killed this project.........
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Steve Turman 05/06/2010 12:01:00 AM
The aggreived developers in this instance may not have to sue; they could file a complaint of fraud/abuse with the investigative unit of the City Auditor's Office and have their allegations investigated for free. This unit used to be tough and aggressive, but fair; and the Auditor is idependent of City management. I hope it still is.
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susanknows 05/05/2010 11:45:00 PM
Here goes City Hall getting their ass in a sling again. I hope both groups, this group and the feds fry their ass for this kind of lack of respect for federal laws. I cannot believe they are continuing segregation..........in 2010........what?
Fry their ass!!!!
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iq 05/05/2010 11:43:00 PM
The City has every reason to be worried.......if this article is true, the NEW SHERIFF will be sending his posse to round up the bad guys............and, just when we thought the City Hall Corruption case was over..........
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Montemalone 05/05/2010 11:31:00 PM
The city should be on it's knees when developers are ready to convert a huge building like that.
The whitey-whites aren't gonna come live downtown until the "amenities" are there. You know, grocery stores, drug stores, chichipoopoo stores. Those stores aren't coming back until they have enough customers.
The people that would benefit from the HUD subsidies will come now, then the amenities will come, then the rich will come. Then Dallas can have Ritz-Carlton condos up and down Main and Elm.
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whodunitagain 05/05/2010 11:30:00 PM
Who would have thought the City was capable of something like this? The trinity river debacle, the Convention Center Hotel, and now this revelation? I'm waiting for the next shoe to drop. Good Job, Schutze! Stay on 'em.............
