http://www.raytown.mo.us/
continues: "You can view their proposal here."
A nice green town square, pictured here. Going to do a number to it, betcha, with Ryan Cronk afoot.
Ramsey did have an election, and the Landform/Lazan/Flaherty/Cronk facilitators then on the ballot were voted out. Not to say anything, either way, as what town officials in Raytown should think or do. Just, I hope they did not seek references from Matt Look, Bob Ramsey, or either of the McGlone spouses.
They should contact Randy Backous or Jason Tossey, still on council, who did vote against being the bank of last resort, not even a second position lien against the property, behind something like twenty-six million lent by the Pittsburgh bank.
Cronk, like Time, marches on.
____________UPDATE___________
In an, "open letter to the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen, Economic Development Administrator Tom Cole, CEcD discusses the downtown redevelopment," which is online, meaning we in Ramsey can read it here, something of the situation in Raytown is disclosed. Does this "brand du jour" sound in any way familiar?
The development process is lengthy, but I believe Flaherty & Collins will deliver a full/final proposal demonstrating all of the development costs (construction, design, engineering, etc) near the end of the first quarter of 2014. Once those numbers have been established, I also anticipate having a full understanding of the finances they bring to the table in addition to the remaining gap that they would request the City to assist in filling. This is typical of most large development projects.
"Remaining gap" means the targeted town bankrolling the final few million of the adventurers' adventure? Behind daunting millions of secured bank money - but with promises of repayment, multi-page contract detail, repayment in some fashion, down the line? It was like that in Ramsey. And now the Northstar trains are not running on time ...
I wonder if there was a "trains have to be on time" escape clause ... I admit, I hold copies of the final paperwork in Ramsey which I have not had cause to study, yet it is public data, and the folks in Raytown can request a CD with all the final paperwork, to possibly whet their own expectations.
(Ramsey's City Clerk handles public data disclosure requests.)
How much, what kind of diligence is due? That would be a matter of Missouri law, for Raytown officials to consider.
Folks in Raytown might be wise to talk to folks on council in Ramsey, on how things are working out. Due diligence, all that. Not that they would hear much. An old saying, "If you cannot say something good, don't say anything," could rule the day. Other side of things, everyone in city government in Ramsey might universally sing hosannas of pure satisfaction and accord. I cannot speak for opinions of others.
__________FURTHER UPDATE_________
It might behoove Raytown officials to click the Developers are Crabgrass sidebar image of David Flaherty, and read of Orland Park, and North Carolina where the "apartment guys" "dabbled in condos" with two shell bankruptcies as part of the track record of a firm that uses LLC intermediaries and likes highly leveraged deals. They leveraged things in Ramsey, with a fraction of the risk money put into the adventure being owner capital.
Those Raytown officials should, however, check out how things are going in Orland Park, by contacting officials there, since the last I read about the project there - luxury apartments - was that officials were happy with how things were working out. It is only fair to state that. And Flaherty's folks appear to be prospering, so that success of particular projects in Carolina aside, their basic record of bringing in profitable real estate deals cannot be ignored or challenged.