Perhaps the answer for Ramsey, is to get the Orland Park board of trustees to not only bankroll Flaherty-Collins there, but here also. Take City of Ramsey out of the rental wrap risk banking loop. Let it stay a city, let Orland Park open up a branch real estate investment bank here. What's another $8 million to the plungers there, when they already are intent on plunging $62 of village money to go with $1 million of Flaherty-Collins' promoter risk capital? Perhaps Colin McGlone and Darren Lazan could junket up to Orland Park? It is not Vegas but sacrifice can happen. Colin could give them his intensely sincere, "I don't see how it can fail" commentary. Same spiel as here - one size fits all.
At any rate, (hat tip to anonymous comment help), there is a second press report of the Orland Park public hearing held Tuesday evening in Orland Park, this link. This opening screenshot:
Yes. As in Ramsey, a quality 'upscale' thing. Nothing but that, attractive to a range of young urban professionals seeking a suburban locale to advance their lifestyle hopes and dreams:
A true P3: Guessing Lazan, Nelson, and Cronk are presenting us with a true P3 too, as their PowerPointPresentation has declared, Orland Park village administrators could micro-manage details of both their Orland Park profit-sharing dream-ramp-rental, AND Ramsey's ramp-wrap-rental by the rails, if they would merely bankroll both; Triblocal online reporting continuing:
Village Manager Paul Grimes, opening the hearing, termed the joint effort with Flaherty “a true private-public partnership.”
Because Orland Park would be the sole lender, municipal officials would have more control over the project, he said. The agreement also calls for repayment of the loan over a 10-year period and provides the municipality with a share of the profits, he said.
Such municipal involvements are becoming increasingly common. Grimes said Wednesday. The City of Indianapolis, he said, is selling $90 million in municipal bonds for a $156 million mixed-used project by a different developer. Unlike Orland Park, Grimes said, Indianapolis won’t share in any profits from that development.
Wow. Those folks want a deeper intrusion into normally private sector affairs than Ramsey's P3 bunch. Add "profit-sharing" into it, make it "public private profit-sharing partnership," and you get a boost to P4, with Ramsey's mere P3 on the trailing edge of the wave.
"I don't see how it can fail."
That is Colin McGlone's conclusory analysis-free summary of his view of Ramsey rental dreams. Well, Colin, you must be right; since how can you miss with the young professional contingent wanting to leave behind their frat-house ways, to move 20-miles from the U-District and the sorority houses, to mix with the empty nesters wanting to also evolve their lifestyles from larger home to shared wall, all mixing and sharing the heated salt water pool, the tanning facility, the exercise room, and meeting room; while conveniently at the rail-friendly location?
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| Evolve and expand Ramsey lifestyle experiences. |
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| We want shared wall, with young professionals. |
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| Train amenities on a regular basis. This link. |
Remember, Colin says:
I don't see how it can fail.
Do you?
Would you like a referendum to be able to vote on whether it could be a costly big bonded splat that you'd rather see not happen? A vote against hubris and myopia at the council table?
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Patch has a third online report from Orland Park, this excerpting:
For about three and a half hours, residents took time at a podium to let village administrators, staff and developer Flaherty and Collins know how they really feel about a 295-unit luxury apartment complex that likely will be built on the west side of the Main Street Triangle.
The most frequent concern raised is the financial risk to the village by loaning $38 million initially to Flaherty and Collins to build the complex. While village staff and administrators say the financing has been studied and is safe, many residents still have doubts.
The Patch outlet seems to attract a larger thread of reader comments, than other OP reporting of the village's rental dream.
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A fourth online report on the Sept. 6 Orland Park public hearing, here.
Orlanders get to vent on $63 million plan
by Jack Murray -- The Regional editor
Orland Park residents packed the Village Hall chambers Tuesday night to question the village’s plan to develop a 295-unit luxury apartment complex on 143rd Street and Ravinia Avenue in a public/private partnership with an Indianapolis-based developer.
The open forum drew an overflow crowd of more than 200 people many of whom stood in the hallways outside the meeting room, or sat in chairs set up in the lobby of the Frederick Owens Village Hall to listen to the proceedings on loud speakers.
Mayor Daniel J. McLaughlin noted that the Village Board was at first scheduled to vote that night whether or not to approve the project to build the Ninety-7Fifty On the Park building but he postponed the vote to Sept. 19 in order to give residents a chance to have their say about the project and have their questions and concerns answered.
The open house held the week before to inform the public of all aspects of the project “didn’t work as well as we thought” it would the mayor said. “We’ll stay here all night if we have to, to get as many answers to people as we can,” he added.
The building is the starting point of the development of a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly downtown Orland Park that will keep Orland Park a “dynamic community” moving forward creating jobs and stimulating local businesses McLaughlin has said.
Village Manager Paul Grimes called it the linchpin or catalyst for the Main Street redevelopment project to create a downtown Orland Park centered on the Metra Triangle bounded by the Metra railroad tracks 143rd Street and La Grange Road. He noted that since 2007 the infrastructure of a new Metra train station, commuter parking lot, Crescent Park and detention pond has been put in place to develop the downtown area.
[...] Grimes emphasized that the market area that will draw tenants to fill the planned complex is “far larger than only Orland Park.” “The Chicago region is a very large sophisticated area and this property is very attractive to potential tenants.” He noted similar projects have been successful in Evanston Oak Brook Terrace and Lombard.
[...] Many who spoke gave their opinion that young professionals would prefer to live downtown than in Orland Park for the monthly rents of $1,500 to $2,000 envisioned for the building. “Single people don’t want to live in Orland Park; they want to live in downtown Chicago, where the action is,” one woman told the board.
[...] Many, however, opposed the village borrowing $63 million to fund the project. Resident James Bailey said he had no objection to the apartment building; “as long as the village doesn’t finance it.”
He wanted to know if the village would borrow more money to finance development in the rest of the Triangle. He also asked if the village would subsidize rents to fill the building.
Flaherty and Collins CEO David Flaherty said there would be no subsidy. The mayor said rents would be established by the free market; no subsidies.
Red highlighting added to note similarities to propaganda being fed us in Ramsey. Every time I see that "very attractive to potential tenants," I want to say, "Name five." Note how the citizen disbelief is parallel too, but without any propaganda machine to account for that, only citizen good sense not reaching far enough to touch the council table.
Note that wrap up. The market can adjust rents up, or it can force rents down, to attain a landlord's optimum given what people are willing to pay. That optimum could, in Orland Park or in Ramsey, or in both, be lower than what would keep the place "upscale." Indeed, it could be so low that even with a landlord's optimal occupancy-rent rates balance it could prove a loser.
David Flaherty and his company have a "210 Trade" condo-tower history of walking from loser projects, leaving others holding the bag.
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It takes a special kind of mind for that I'd guess, as with the Bauer gun club naming, and the Peterson cornfield by Trott Brook.
Or, "Symphony at Town Center." I wonder if Darren, Man of the COR, will be pressuring that homeowners association to "rebrand."