A fundamental question. Actually two. First, what's Flaherty paying for SAC and WAC, and is it subsidized? Second, why would a tenant choose Ramsey instead of a vital downtown?

On the first question, does any reader know the answer? I suppose on the subsidy question I will have to email top City of Ramsey officials. If I find an answer I will publish it. I do recall how, before he left, Brian Olson gave citizens an honest answer. Question: "I have a single family home, 300 frontage feet on the road, what would be my total SAC and WAC assessment if sewer-water gets run down my road?" Honest answer from Olson, then, "Roughly forty to fifty thousand dollars."

With that as a perspective - the sting put on a present citizen-resident-voter, what's happening with Flaherty and that sweetheart project he has going? Is he getting a comparable sting, or is he to get only honey, no sting?

Second question: Read this.



_________UPDATE__________

This link. Also re Penfield, here.

The Penfield: Being built on the central corridor light rail, so not just rush hour but all hours you can easily reach either city hub within minutes. Easy walking or biking distance to the Historical Society, the Capitol, and the Minnesota Supreme Court Law Library. The Ordway and Science Museum are a bit further, but only a bit and not thirty busy crowded highway miles away, (or where the bike seat can get a bit tiring, thirty miles each way).

Restaurants, they have restaurants. Shops, ditto. An elevator ride to a Lunds, back up with the cold stuff not thawing, no lugging shopping bags by foot from Coborns to Lego Land housing [Bunker at Ramsey]. Vertical. Not a massive squat architecturally challenged thing (compare, here and here).Or this:

This link. You compare.
Where does Flaherty hide the fire escapes?

Sakry reporting, "luxury apartments," this link.

And downtown St. Paul with a Lunds store ground floor will attract the DINK crowd [double income no kids], whereas Flaherty's Ramsey Rail Rentals will attract the DITK crowd wanting to take advantage of the suburban school system we out here are paying for [DITK is double income three kids, where kids tend to clutter the pool area in summer, the other common areas, exercise room, etc.]. You can rent Flaherty style, miles from urban things of interest and share a wall with an active DITK family, to where the perpetuity of the train noise will be dwarfed into near non-factor status, as to noise, in perpetuity - or as long as you'd last there before breaking the lease.

But then, if Flaherty's thing does not rent out, you may be the lucky one to share your walls with a vacant unit or two - for a while at least. Anticipating Apartment House Blues, "One man's ceiling is another man's floor."

How many misbehaving kids would it take to crowd YOU
from this tiny Flaherty-proposed pool?

______________FURTHER UPDATE____________
More along the lines of where young prospering individuals might choose to live, particularly renters with cash to afford a choice - this link. And that MinnPost photo of the Riverview Cafe - if you've ever dined at Cafe Maude, compare the sidewalk tables, the picture windows, the corner entrance. Interesting stuff, in the cities. "Shift in growth ..." the headline says ...

And that excellent small restaurant across the street from Cafe Maude - you don't find those amenities in Clown Center.

So, do you expect quality to spring in Flaherty's 3000 sq ft of commercial space? Good luck, dreamer. And by the way, if it were a space 60 ft x 60 ft that would be 3600 sq ft, 600 more than Flaherty's grudgingly providing. It's a postage stamp size retail, right by the rail stop. Go figure. Flaherty's a landlord. No more. No less, if there is anything less ...