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Monday, June 27, 2011

RAMSEY: The latest info I could find about Flaherty and Collins listing their Cosmopolitan on the Canal rental adventure in Indianapolis with the local CB Richard Ellis commercial brokerage.

First the fact of there being a listing was made public on or before the morning of June 21, with the IndyStar.com online reporting, here, time-stamped "6:32 AM, Jun. 21, 2011." That means several days before that the listing details had to have been finalized. Just putting together the slide-show propaganda at the top of the CBRE page, here, had to take time - even if those are all stock photos, arranging the dog-pony presentation would have been a chore. Reader comments to the StarIndy item, online here.

Here is a screenshot, split into two parts for easier reading, freezing one image in the top-of-webpage-slideshow the realtor has online (click to enlarge and read):



You get the drift. If you want the slideshow, this link.

I don't know if it's specifically to hide stuff from Ramsey snoops, but CBRE, the realtor, requires that you sign a "confidentiality agreement" in order to get offering documents:


Well, I cannot post offering documents, I decline to sign, but I bet Bray or Goodrich could get offering papers on request, on behalf of Ramsey due diligence, and may have them already by now.

Here, you can toggle to download the confidentiality agreement and "offering brochure," a four-page el slicko propaganda piece on how great the Cosmo is and will be, without making any substantial representations of present fact, but with a photo montage.

So, what did CBRE know and when did they know it? What did Ramsey's agents [through Landform], Lazan and Cronk know and when did they know it?

I have no answers.

I bet Bray and Goodrich could get answers, however, and perhaps already have on behalf of my city whose wealth and income are things I would like protected by prudent inquiry followed by informed discussion involving the mayor and city administrator, the HRA chairman, but not so much of the council as to be a closed meeting in violation of the open meeting law (although regarding pending dealings there is an exception and the entire council/HRA could participate in a closed session - I would think). They have gone into closed session previously, they know the ground rules.

BOTTOM LINE: If they, Flaherty & Collins, can succeed in raising liquidity from the Cosmopolitan then bless them, for it means they can finance their Ramsey adventuring without the city's wealth and income stream being placed at great inopportune risk -- precisely as it should be since a city is a city, not a bank.

____________________
Ancillary info: Summer 2010, Flaherty-Collins brochures a meeting, with ending notice of the Cosmopolitan opening; and now Summer 2011, they are searching for liquidity from it. This link, ending.

It was not easy for me to ferret out the listing, on the CBRE website, since I could not find any press release or news posting about the listing. I found a CBRE - FC business dealings history exists, e.g., here. Also, here and here.

Apartment market doldrums, here, but with a thought happy days might be here again, around the corner, near-term.

Finally there is a Matt Flaherty, and there's somewhat of a facial resemblance, here; with CBRE in Colorado, while one agent representing Flaherty & Collins is identified here. The agents of CBRE representing FC and its Cosmo hopes, are identified in documents for which I have already supplied links. The appearance is the lead agent is the one identified on p.2 of the confidentiality agreement, a short thing, not presented with the first page image, above.

Readers are asked to email or add a comment if there are any bad links or other problems with the post. I have written it in haste, the lawn's approaching eight inches by being halfway there, and I do not want to breach any authoritarian ordinances so -- Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, off to mow I go. Enjoy.

___________UPDATE____________
I sat through a bit more of the slide show for the marketing, and they have location. They have a view of downtown, rather than propane tanks and RV sales outlets on Highway 10; and are on a scenic quiet canal, not a busy loud freight train track, where counting coal cars or tank cars could be a way to challenge insomnia from the noise.

__________FURTHER UPDATE_________
A slinging exercise, don't use a trowell to lay it on, use a large shovel; from here:

The acquisition of Cosmopolitan on the Canal presents the truly unique opportunity to acquire what is unequivocally the city’s finest residential asset.

Cosmopolitan on the Canal is a core, flagship urban community in Indianapolis’ thriving and progressive downtown, with best-of-class features and finishes. The property is well-positioned to take advantage of a palpable demand for ultra-premium luxury urban rental housing in the urban core while offering several untapped revenue enhancement strategies.

Okay, a transposition of a bit along the longitude and latitude, try this on for size:

The acquisition of a second lien position on the Ramp Wraparound Rental Residence at the tracks in Ramsey presents the truly unique opportunity to acquire what is unequivocally a junior lien on the city’s finest residential asset.

The Ramp Wraparound Rental Residence at the tracks in Ramsey is a COR, flagship urban community in Ramsey's thriving and progressive Town Center, with best-of-class features and finishes. The property is well-positioned to take advantage of a palpable demand for ultra-premium luxury urban rental housing in the urban COR while offering several untapped revenue enhancement strategies.

Imagine what, a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid train robbery romping room for the youngsters? A four-locomotive wall mural, showing that power needed to hump the Rockies and reach the west coast with goods and containers, and to return, with same, new varieties, small flag lapel pins and hand held US flags, Made in China. Other essentials.

That stuff the realtor cooked, probably with Flaherty and Collins having a word or two on wording, is slinging it further than the bull or horse could, or ever did. They kept to their pasture, and did it naturally, no hot air added as puffing, but a valid straight from the gut presentation.