Friday, May 7, 2010
Work Stops On Commencement Condos
More trouble for The Commencement condo project. The bank that carried the construction loan has been assumed by a new bank and the project has been asked to reapply for the construction loan. In the meantime, work on the project has stopped. The News Tribune has more details here....
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14 comments:
Work just stopped? I thought that project was dead a year ago.
Oh well. Lets hope the "new" bank can get this project finished.
It will need to become a more affordable housing complex.
Just what they need in Ruston.
I thought the project was dead longer than that!I feel sorry for the people who committed their money and now have to live in a big, empty, unfinished building.
The 'old' bank might not have folded if borrowers paid their loans back.
No one mentioned that there'll be zero tax revenue coming to Ruston from the Commencement and the Copperline projects, at least not for many, many years.
Most of our Ruston government leaders have bent over backwards giving these builders everything they wanted for years, representing their interests over the citizens', and for what?
Who is now left holding the bag? Guess who - the common folk of Ruston.
There's been a persistence on the part of at least one Council member to raise our taxes. That seems to be her answer to our fiscal problems. We have not had what I consider good leadership recently, regardless of the economy.
No win-win results here, I'm sorry to say.
What's the status of the lawsuit between the Commencement and the Town? Is Mike Cohen suing the Town, too?
The same article also said that Mike Cohen (who claims he's developing Pt Ruston/Asarco site) has stopped building the Copperline condo units since the financial sources have soured.
LID money (translation: our tax money) is keeping Cohen afloat for now, but it won't build buildings, just infrastructure.
Mr Cohen and Municipal Governments, including Metro Parks, this message is for you. How about concentrating your efforts on cleaning up the contamination and making the Asarco site a natural wetlands with walking trails that people can enjoy in a couple of years, instead of trying to force a densely populated cluster of high buildings that will take years and years to build? We wouldn't be getting taxes on any developments for at least a decade or two, even optimistically speaking.
I am very tired of p.r. people singing the same old song of development being Ruston's salvation. We're going on 5 years now of nothing finished and nary a coin in the Ruston treasury. Maybe we should listen to a different tune.
"Mr Cohen.... this message is for you. How about concentrating your efforts on cleaning up the contamination and making the Asarco site a natural wetlands with walking trails"
Are you kidding me? Mike Cohen is a developer who took a HUGE risk buying this site. How in the heck is he going to make any money by developing it into wetlands and walking trails?
Some people in this world are truly off their rocker.
Yes, I understand from your comment, Anon, that it's all about the money. That's fine, so taking a business approach, shouldn't you also be asking, 'where is the money?' The answer is that it's nowhere and Cohen could lose much more before it's all over. Yes, Cohen decided to take a risk, and four years into this project, he's not produced anything but three or four houses on Stack Hill and a cement foundation for the Copperline. If he continues to produce at no faster a rate than that, it begs the question, who really is off his or her rocker?
Let cooler heads prevail, Anon..
Cohen didn't take a huge risk since he only pays as he goes. No monthly loan payment to make; he pays a portion of the $13 million original price for the site whenever he finishes developing and selling a section.
It is good see so many experts in land development residing in Ruston. Who knowns. Maybe you can solve the rest of the States problems.
$13 million that he doesn't make monthly payments on? Whatever do you mean, anonomous, when you say he took a huge risk? Cohen got a HUGE BARGAIN!
I wish I had such a 'risky' deal with my mortgage. I'd be in hog heaven.
Tsk, tsk. A little sarcasm and bitter tone doth dampen civility's spirit.
Actually, it doesn't take land development experts to save Ruston; a deus ex machina will do.
As for the rest of the U.S., employment and jobs are increasing; the tide of the economy is beginning to turn, according to the latest reports on the ecoomy. One can hope that some day we'll see improvement in Ruston - and maybe a beautiful wetlands, besides.
Has anyone read the latest issue of 'Dollars and Sense'? Forget about the Commencement and Pt Ruston's development issues for a minute and read about developments with Asarco in El Paso, Texas.
(I'm sure you'll never print this post, Karen, once you read the article. Oh, well..)
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