Tuesday, February 04, 2014

David Flaherty, the suspense. Will the town give the man a subsidy?

Will he do nothing, without one? As surely as the Pope is Catholic, he will await his due subsidy. It is his M.O. His habit. His business plan and model. In Ramsey. Elsewhere.

This link. This excerpt:

About 500 parking spaces and 43,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space would be included. Flaherty & Collins said it prefers that a specialty grocer occupy the space and is pursuing Whole Foods as a tenant.

The development would be backed by a combination of public and private funds, with the city agreeing to contribute at least $17.8 million from a bond sale and land for the project appraised at $5.6 million.

But before the city commits, members of the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee are asking that Flaherty & Collins provide it information on the project’s financing structure, plans to hire local contractors and parking specifics.

Flaherty & Collins so far has not supplied the information, causing the committee to once again continue the vote, to the frustration of the body’s eight members.

“I feel against the wall, having made the request [to Flaherty & Collins] and not having anything in front of us,” said Vop Osili, who represents the district in which the project would be built.

Why Flaherty & Collins has yet to abide by the request is unclear. Representatives of the company did not speak at the meeting and abruptly left before the committee voted on the continuance.

Reached by IBJ, Flaherty & Collins CEO David Flaherty referred comment on the situation to the city.

".. abruptly left before the committee voted on the continuance," like spoiled brats? Spoiled by how easily Ramsey and Orland Park rolled over, when told to? What other explanation?