Churchwell Bldg Owner and City nearing agreement

[vicupstate]

Churchwell and city near a deal for parking

Sign the deal and let's get on with this project. This is a no-brainer.

Note the developer's comments on the un-pedestrian nature of the Bay St. town Center.

[Urban_Legend]

I really liked what that developer had to say. I never even gave thought to the the sirens and buses that fly down that street. It really needs help.

Didn't someone mention that there's a new retail spot coming in next to the new and improved Eclate? That would be two, count 'em two, businesses on Bay Street... Would've been 3 if Circa '46 hadn't closed...

[RiversideGator]

These Bay Street building owners are stupid, in my opinion. I would attempt to rent out the downstairs as retail (something which is admittedly difficult given the current market) but would rent the upstairs as apartments, not offices. It looks like the going rate for downtown apartments is at least $1.15 per square foot per month which is pretty darn good. Yes office space commands more rent, but the demand just isnt there for various reasons, in my opinion. Many people do want to live in cool historic spaces downtown though. And, you rent a parking space a block away for $50 a month for your tenant. Anyway, these guys are just sitting on their properties, I guess hoping for further appreciation but arent getting any income. I dont get it.

[vicupstate]

These Bay Street building owners are stupid, in my opinion. I would attempt to rent out the downstairs as retail (something which is admittedly difficult given the current market) but would rent the upstairs as apartments, not offices. It looks like the going rate for downtown apartments is at least $1.15 per square foot per month which is pretty darn good. Yes office space commands more rent, but the demand just isnt there for various reasons, in my opinion. Many people do want to live in cool historic spaces downtown though. And, you rent a parking space a block away for $50 a month for your tenant. Anyway, these guys are just sitting on their properties, I guess hoping for further appreciation but arent getting any income. I dont get it.

I'm with you Gater. I think the Suddath building owners considered residential, but they couldn't get their mind past the fact that parking would not be on-site or within close visual distance. The same old suburban mindset creeping in.

At least one of the major buildings on Bay is owned by a local that owns tons of R.E. all over the city. He doesn't need the money, and I gather that he always holds out for above-market prices.

The thing that bothers me is that these negotiations have been going on for awhile. According to the PRINTED articles, the city seemed reluctant to provide parking for residential because it wanted to save them for restaurants and retail usage. This is backwards, IMO. First, the retail will follow the rooftops. Second, you WANT people to have to walk to downtown attractions. That way they walk past OTHER stores, entertainment venues, etc. while they are enroute to their their intended destination.

As soon as this project was proposed, the DDA, JEDC, etc. should have been "how can we help to make this happen?" Given that it has taken this long to get close to an agreement, I tend to doubt that was the attitude. Of course, maybe the developer was just asking for too much initially.