Did you read this

Spring taxes delayed, says the News Sentinel. I reported Saturday that you would receive your tax bill in the mail in June. But, Robert Lee states, that I am wrong. That the bill that you should have received in MARCH, you will receive in JULY. But you will still have the NOVEMBER DATE FOR THE SECOND HALF.

Allen County Treasurer Robert Lee announced that spring taxes will be delayed this year because of adjustments to property values. This is the first time the adjustment has been implemented in Indiana, joining 48 other states.

Yeah right, the first time, my behind. The first time the adjustment is called trending. Remember all those computer glitches, instead of saying oops no we did not go out and assess all these properties in the proper manner.

However, Lee has started a property tax e-mail system to keep taxpayers updated on when tax amounts are in and when they are due. Register at www.allencounty.us/treasurer.Tax bills are expected to be ready the beginning of July.

I found that gem in the police brief in the newspaper. Right there in the criminal section of our newspaper, what a fitting place to locate such news for our taxpayers. Go see for yourself, I am not making this stuff up. Do you really want these folks to have your email address? These are the same folks who did not send a man a certified letter and his property was sold. Property sold at a tax sale. I don't think email is a good way of communicating with these folks.

Now the big question for me is why are our property tax bill so late? I know what Lee says, but I have my doubts. And it all points to this Harrison Square Park deal. It may be just me, but I suspect they have not priced the property for Jason and Chris. You know our friends at Hardball Capital. Because, the price of that property will determine how much taxes Hardball will have to pay for those condos. And it will determine how much will go into that special fund, TIF.

You know the fund, Jefferson Pointe TIF expansion. TIF will freeze the amount that Jason and Chris will have to pay on taxes. Had you ever played the game Freeze. Well that is exactly what is going to happen to the land, that Greg Leatherman, is now trying to do a better job of assessing.

You probably read where Leatherman, stated that he probably overpaid Bill Palace, $2.4 million dollars on property valued at a little over $600,000. Now Leatherman could probably play Mr. Big Spender with taxpayers dollars. But Jason and Chris, our friends, because we are so happy that they are spending $5 million and $15 million more on condos. I don't think Jason and Chris are going to spend an extra penny on over assessed property.

Yeah, I'm thinking that's what happened. Because, when have you known Leatherman, or any elected official, to admit they made a mistake? So, everybody should have went to their window, and saw all that snow falling, and thought it was an indication, that something is not right.

Anyways, back to TIF and our late tax bills from Robert Lee and friends. As you know City Council has not approved the extension of TIF yet. So if our friends, Jason and Chris, want to take advantage of this reassessment they need to move locking in the current value of their downtown investment. As soon as Chris and Jason sign the agreements surrounding property is going to skyrocket. But those who are already in the TIF designation is going to be protected from increases in their tax burden each and every business that's in the area. But, first City Council must approves the TIF district. What you say?

Nope, no new taxes. It is all the folks who comes in afterward. Yep, Hardball is to be the CATALYST to all these new businesses. Businesses drawn to greatness, the field of dreams. You know the saying about if you can't be a mountain, at least attach yourself to one. But you knew that, I'm not telling you nothing you didn't already know.

Why do you think Leatherman and his cliche are running around recalculating figures on land already sold ?!! They, city leaders, have not told you the value of the property for our friends, Jason or Chris. They can tell you everything else. They can tell you projection 20 years out. But they are scratching their heads on the value of that land that, you know the land they already bought by secretly going knocking on folks doors. Did not even tell City Council.

So, my theory is our tax bills are being delayed because we are waiting on our new neighbors. Our friends, Chris and Jason's property to be properly assessed. There is another saying, that you can fool some of the people some of the times, but you can't fool all the people all the time. I think our friends Chris and Jason are teaching our Room for Dreams city that very lesson. I could be wrong.

One of my readers said I sit on a throne of lies. He recently came over and apologized. He also told me he was impressed. But, this blog is all about recognizing, if you don't know you need to ask somebody. And if folks ask, tell them FWAAIW, told you so.

Jason Freier's interview with Journal-Gazette

Jason Freier Hardball Capital partner, answers five questions. Gives five interesting answers.

Hat tip to Downtown Fort Wayne Baseball.

YLNI and Hardball Capital Meeting Pictures

Jason Freier

Mark Pope, faciliator and Bennie Lewis

Wilbert "Duke" Brown and Deputy Mayor Mark Becker

Small talk
Adam Mildred and Bill Brown

Steve Brody

Wilbert "Duke" Brown and Deputy Mayor Mark Becker

5th District Council Person Tim Pape

Land for sale

The Young Leaders from Northeast Indiana meeting ended early. The biggest treat was to speak to the million dollar man himself, Jason Freier. Freier, is taking a risk. Freier, the outsider has upped the ante. Freier is investing $20 million dollars into the downtown business district. Something that hometown business owners have failed to do. So you got a love Freier. There is no way around that fact.

But, Freier is no country hick. Freier tells about a business man who listened to the people. The business man purchased up the land. After acquiring the land began to built offices in a certain downtown. The man is in his 70 and is worth billions of dollars.

Freier has an eye for an opportunity. Freier need not purchase up the land like an old protege. The City of Fort Wayne is giving it to him. On this land Freier will spend around $20 million dollars. $15 millions will go toward building some condominium. Nice condominiums with the price range in the ballpark area of $180,000 to $300,000. Let's see a little multiplication and addition, and I come up with a figure between $10 million to $18 millions for 60 of those bad boys. Now the price and number may change. Interest in ownership will more than likely drive the price. That does not include the baseball park.


The baseball park design is a beautiful place. Why wouldn't be. Freier is a baseball fan and he loves his team's, the Wizard's , fans. Freier envision a baseball park that is fun for the whole family. A baseball park where family can enjoy a picnic. And perhaps because he has two little ones, where children can play on oversize slides of some sort. And with the downtown baseball park, this dream can come true and than some.

Did I say anything about brain drain. Did I say anything about young folks bored with the suburbia moving back into the urban cutting edge, hip and happening downtown area. I didn't did I.


Nope, because it ain't about these young folks. It's about the businessmen in downtown Fort Wayne who should be carrying Freier and his partner on their shoulders. Freier is going to make those folks a mint. Council members, attorneys,and other folks with property in proximity, like West Central Neighborhood, to the Freier project will go on the market. Yes sirree, Freier probably sees a billion in the making. And it happening way before he hit 70 years of age.

Mr. Freier you are the best thing that could have happened to Fort Wayne Wizard. Or should I say Fort Wayne, Indiana is one of your best friends.

Harrison Square Park Dialogue

The Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana convened a panel to discuss the Harrison Square Project at the brand new Allen County Main Library. The panel included one of the wizard owners, Jason Freier. Other members of the panel were Mark Becker, Fort Wayne Deputy Mayor, Steve Brody, Harrsion Square Project Member, Chris Schoen from Barry's Real Estate, Mark Pope, IPFW Athletic Director Dan Carmody, Downtown Improvement District, and Steve Gard, Oyster's Bar owner.

The citizens listened to a brief presentation and the panel answered questions from the audience. The questions were written on paper, and the facilitator read the question to the panel.

Some of the same questions were asked, and got some of the same answers. Mainly, the project is still in negotiation. All the details have not been hammered out. But for sure, the Harrison Square project will be a great catalyst for downtown development the panelists were in agreement.

The most commanding statement came from Attorney Jason Freier when the panel was asked about taxpayers dollar. Freier stated that some of the tax dollars that would normal go to the state from the city of Fort Wayne could be used right here in the city rather than go to the state.

Good Point.

But the most telling comment came from Barry Real Estate, Schoen. It had to do with the fact that our new city in the making, for folks to live, work an play will cost a pretty penny to live down there. In phase one of the project condos will range in price from $180 000- $300,000 apiece.

Harrison Square Voices of Authority

Who is Jack Swarbrick? Swarbrick wrote an opinion piece for the Journal Gazette about the marketing tools used to sell downtown development, the group of blue prints. But I wanted to know more about Swarbrick interest in Fort Wayne.

Jack Swarbrick is a partner in Baker & Daniels LLP in Indianapolis and former chairman of the Indiana Sports Corp. He wrote this for The Journal Gazette.

stated the article. So what is Indiana Sports Corporation.

Indiana Sports Corporation (ISC) is a private, not-for-profit organization that represents Indianapolis in the national and international sports marketplace. Created in 1979 to attract national and international sporting organizations and events to central Indiana, ISC coordinates and markets major amateur sporting events. Indiana Sports Corporation was instrumental in the process which resulted in the NCAA's decision to relocate its national headquarters and Hall of Champions to Indianapolis, and ISC supports and assists more than a dozen sport-related organizations in our city.

By targeting sports as a growth industry for Indianapolis, Indiana Sports Corporation's goals are to stimulate the economy, improve Indianapolis' image nationally and internationally, enhance the city's quality of life and provide opportunities for youth.

Since 1979, Indianapolis has hosted more than 400 national and international sporting events.

The Indianapolis sports community looks forward to welcoming the world as Crooked Stick Golf Club hosts the 2005 Solheim Cup.

Funding: Indiana Sports Corporation relies on corporate and individual memberships, private contributions, event revenue and charitable grants as chief funding sources. Call 317.237.5000 to learn more about sponsorship and/or membership opportunities.

Structure: Indiana Sports Corporation has a full-time staff and a volunteer Board of Directors and relies heavily on part-time volunteers to carry out its mission. Earl Goode serves as chairman of the board, and Susan Williams is president of ISC.

So is Swarbrick really interested in Fort Wayne becoming a great American city or furthering the business interest of the private not for profit company investors in which he served as former chairperson?

Go back and reread: Created in 1979 to attract national and international sporting organizations and events to central Indiana, ISC coordinates and markets major amateur sporting events.

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Swarbrick writes that you have to swallow the whole pill of redevelopment dollars. That Hardball is dropping $20 millions for downtown. That folks need to stop breaking pill of the redevelopment into just the $5 million piece representing the stadium. Because it's not being honest. And how does the taxpayer pay to match that $20 millions is yet to be revealed in this grandiose scheme? And this is the reason for calling Fort Wayne disingenuous?

But wait a minute, Swarbrick suggest taxpayers fund the private investors, and then the private dollars will follow:

When the success of this project spurs, as it almost certainly will, other development, the amount of private money being invested in downtown Fort Wayne (money that would never have otherwise been invested) will continue to climb.

But in the meantime, taxpayers are not to ask the hard questions concerning the spending of their money. Sounds like a good theme for a movie, Field of Dreams, but not at the expense of the hometown fans who are rooting for economic security for their families.

Did you hear what I heard? I didn't but did you hear what I heard?

I read both interview sets and was not impressed. First leading questions supported the blogger's position. You already know your position, built on information from the other side. I would rather ask questions explaining the project which would lead to other questions. Second, I would not take in a laundry list of questions for an hour and half interview.

I would have requested documents, documents and more documents. Documents answers some of the laundry list questions and provide a source for more relevant questions.

Next, I would structure my questions around the individual who would serve as the primary source for information.

Therefore, my questions would materialize from the folks in the room and the available material.

So, two questions, where are certain documents? And the funding sources?

This is my take on Downtown Fort Wayne Baseball interview, Starting with the first leading question,


Harrison Q is a signature project. It is a private and public dollar venture. The investment dollars willbe spent on Harrison Q in hopes of creating more foot traffic, which would in turn support the huge public investments, already in the downtown area.

The venture calls for more investment dollars from the public. What out of town investor does not what support from the locals? Nevertheless, this time public dollars will be combined with private dollars for mixed used project. Mixed use meaning not only a hotel,residential condominiums, street level retail, baseball stadium and a parking garage, but also the commingling of public and private funds.

Local officials controlled community input with planting certain types of projects that would be included in the mixed-use venture. Of course, those volunteering thought at the time of their participation some of these ideas came from their group, but city officials were planted in each group. Nevertheless, city officials and paid consultants compiled these ideas from the meetings and stored the data into three reports, Downtown BluePrint (2002), Downtown BluePrintPlus and Downtown Baseball Plus as marketing tools for private developers.

Because the public dollars are stretched in supporting the big-ticket items, the signature venture is needed to support these big-ticket items. Many of these projects are nonprofits. Moreover, to creatively support these projects they may become branded by the signature project. Branded meaning because their names will be visible. And the parking spaces of smaller nonprofit can collect revenue for charging for parking.


Because Hardball Capital is using their private dollars in this signature venture, they will be driving the development of the Harrison Q project. It makes sense that these businesspersons know more than the elected official knows or appointed officials.

Of course the Embassy, Grand Wayne Convention, Allen County Public Library are in position to take advantage of some of the decisions by Hardball Capital, but who will locally be a part of the project is in negotiation in the role Hardball Capital will play managing a public park.

The city will benefit from Hardball Capital driving this project from the shared revenue stream. This revenue stream is being hammered out as we speak in a legal document of Memorandum of Understanding in which all involved parties will have to sign.


Other public dollars will be similar to what we did in using the restaurant tax for Memorial Coliseum. Instead, this time we were able to extend the Jefferson Pointe TIF district to two streets downtown, Jefferson and Washington. We were motivated so that Jefferson Pointe Tif dollar could be used in the downtown area. The expansion allows us to use the fund from Jefferson Pointe TIF for public improvement on Harrison to the east, Ewing to the west and Baker to the south to improve traffic flow. Moreover, another use of the TIF fund would be to finance the parking garage.

This would free up income generated from the parking garage to pay for maintenance and operation of the parking garage. In addition, CEDIT dollar can now be lumped into one area instead of going into the separate councilman district and at large districts. This be an additional source of public dollars to commingle with private dollars.

Now if it is a success all the new business sales and income taxes will be limited to under a million dollar, more like $750,000.


The tiny businessperson will have an opportunity depending on Hardball Capital, on the other side of Ewing and Jefferson. However, Hardball may have a potential working partnership with the developers of Jefferson Pointe, RED, focusing on the big names and national chains. This would prevent any stores from competing with the stores or restaurants in Jefferson Pointe. In addition, if the tiny businessperson were allowed they would become renters and no longer owners.

Some local business will benefit, like architectural firm learning from a national firm and becoming part of a team in designing the baseball stadium of this signature venture. Other folks like construction companies, contractors, and homeowners in the West Central Neighborhood. Even the Holiday Hotel could benefit if it was to remodel and use the hotel for office space or apartments, which would sure help the new hotel.

The Sunday Funnies-Property Reassessment by your local government

Amanda Iacone reports on Fort Wayne.Com about reassessment. Iacone reports:

All of the property updates – about 130,000 – will have been mailed by Monday. About 20,000 properties had no change in their value and will not receive the forms, said Ryan Keuneke, chief deputy assessor.

I posted here:

The assessors offices are mailing out form 11 R/A. I know many of you want to believe that your leaders are honest people !!! But be warned because your new tax bill will increase and it has nothing to do with Fort Wayne Community School but greed from your local officials to build Harrison Square.

This notification form 11 R/A is an important part of the reassessment because it starts the second phase of the reassessment process. The second phase involves a review process by the property owners on the accuracy of the assessors assessment. Any property owner wanting to challenge the accuracy of the assessment must file an appeal in writing for review of the assessment on form 130 or form 133 within 45 days of the notification.

The mailing is not an update. This statement that your property has been assessed at a certain values based on faulty record keeping in the assessor office from years and years of abuse in assessing property is a notice. This abuse of power from assessors caused Judge Thomas Fisher to determine that it was so widespread that Fisher promulgated rulings governing a uniformed way of assessing property and a way to measure whether or not these assessors were playing by the rules.


So, out of the office and on to the streets, assessors had to learn how to assess property and record property. Time was of the essence. Going door to door many homeowners were not letting folks in or were not at home. So assessor birth a way to get the job done in the mandated time period.

The updates reflect changes in assessed property values. Many properties increased in value because the last time properties were assessed, local assessors used sales and market data from 1999

.

Nope, it was made up. Hired new inexperience computer techies and manipulated the system. And that's what they did. Many homes were sold to capture the over assessment creating sales disclosures that were based on misinformation. Homes were not worth the values and the unsuspecting buyers were duped. And these sale disclosures are what the assessor offices is using to duped the public in this year current assessment. That is if homeowners do not appeal.


Of course some property was assessed in the proper fashion but many inconsistency existed and still do to this day. The State was outraged at the greed of the local government. So the State legislators to protect homeowners from the greedy locals increased the homestead deduction, place a circuit breaker on the taxing amount, and required annual assessment.
From the State:

The circuit breaker became law in 2006 with the passage of House Enrolled Act 1001. It is aimed at helping Hoosiers by ensuring they don’t pay more than 2 percent of their property value in taxes. The goal is to provide predictability in tax bills and equity among Hoosier taxpayers.

The Circuit Breaker is slated to become mandatory statewide for residential property in 2007. Homeowners will not see the potential Circuit Breaker impact until their 2008 tax bill. The circuit breaker expands to include all property types in 2009. Taxpayers will not see the impact of the expansion until their 2010 tax bill.

State law now requires that properties be reassessed each year so that property tax bills increase bit by bit instead of a large increase every several years, County Treasurer Bob Lee said.

The quote by the Treasure Bob Lee, here's another take on it, from the state.

Under the old system, real estate was generally only reassessed every 10 years. That left taxpayers with a large change in their assessments every decade. Annual adjustments curb that large lump sum change in assessments by annually adjusting values based on sales

.
The annual assessment would prevent sticker shock to homeowners. And homeowners would be better able to prove their property values did not triple in value every year. This placed the inexperienced staff back into their offices researching sales disclosure form to increase their knowledge and record keeping in trying to make money for the city. Rather than truly assess property value to meet the budget.



The willy-nilly reassessment caused sticker shock and many high end tax payers were outraged and threaten to go to court. Deals were made. The squeaky wheels property owners assessment were reconfigured undocumented, just a number change in the system. The unsuspected just bite the bullet of the egregious increase. The number of appeals were reduced and unknown to the public. The meme-journalists only reports those folks that would not go away. The number of folks who demanded immediate reduction to the proper values of their homes and was cut a deal are missing in the informal appeal process.


Oh the heading,

Tax growth to hit 14.5%; past delays fuel increase

The tax growth is more than 14.5% and it's has nothing to do with delays. More from the state

Hoosier taxpayers could see an increase or a decrease in their tax bills after the annual adjustment of their assessment based on their location and the expenditures by local government.

In essence, the assessment represents a property owner’s share of the overall tax burden for a specific area.

Tell that to those who work for city government, as they over assess and collect field of revenue to pay for a hotel, baseball stadium......

In the newspaper

Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, ranking minority member on the House Ways and Means Committee, said about 7 percent of that is a direct result of trending.

.That suggest that of the disclosed 14.5 per cent in property value increase is too high. But the real increase is hidden in the details.

City of Fort Wayne steals private property again (Southtown Mall was the first) for economy development without just compensation

AARP is deeply concerned with the preservation of home equity, the availability of affordable,safe, decent and stable housing and the elimination of discrimination in housing.


AARP is deeply committed to ensuring that its members are not forced out of their homes and communities except as a means to remove blight or for a needed traditional purpose use and to ensuring that when such displacement occur that older homeowners receive compensation that recognizes the unique cost of their dislocations.

In the summary, of a Kelo's amicus brief, the attorneys representing AARP and other groups argued that Connecticut constitution does not support the government taking private property from one owner and giving it to another private property owner for mere economic development. The Constitution requires a true taking, if not it can be dangerous and will disproportionally harm racial, ethnic minorities, elderly and economically underprivileged.

To allow government to take property through eminent domain for economic development purposes, would in essence eliminate judicial review, a check on the overreaching by government on citizens private property protections on such takings from the overbearing elites.

It is no accident according to former Attorney General of Minnesota in Downtown, Inc. Negro Removal is not just a thing of the past. During the 1960s whole communities of African-Americans were bulldozed from their homes, and under- compensated for their homes. In Alleging Race-Based Condemnation, African-Americans are targeted for such removal.

Statics suppose that the taking of property impact certain groups, specially the elderly, Hispanic and African-Americans. The reason why government target such groups because more than likely these groups are the weakest politically and lack the resources to fight in the court system that is dominated by folks who do not look like them. In addition, the government reaps a much larger windfall from an area that it has depressed and sell at a higher market value.

The city select the area and secretly goes in an offer compensation only for the value that a home would sell for in that area, but fail to include the trapped value in which they are aware when purchasing the property. If home owners are not adequately compensated for the cost of a similar home in a different area, during this secret process, many will be unable to afford to purchase homes in the higher priced neighborhoods. For families displaced, their ability to transfer their wealth to their children have been transferred to elite families. They hurry and moved into these areas in anticipate of the City's planned scheme of things.

The City purchased the property and now is selling land to the Wizard owners, a more refined taking of property for an economic development. The City is hiding under the debate of whether or not to build a hotel and stadium. The City is not answering when they got authority to use taxpayers dollars to enter the real estate business with their tax dollars.

No wonder Hardball is only paying $5 million, this is not their idea. The City says I have some land for you dirt cheap (no pun intended).


Indiana law blog writes about urban renewal today, too.

Fort Wayne's Toll Road-650 Miles of Downtown Property

No wonder our Mayor Dick was rewarded with a raise. The Journal Gazette reports about Harrison Square and I blogged about early here. The Mayor calls it a catalyst, I call it a "My Man Mitch Pitch." Governor Mitch Daniels catalyst for the revitalization of Indiana was the toll road, and Mayor Graham Richard catalyst for revitalizing downtown Fort Wayne is a stadium. According to the Journal-Gazette,

We had a plan to develop a catalyst, and all of a sudden the Wizards get bought, not just by a baseball owner but by a developer used to taking risks specifically in downtown areas,” Richard said. “They said, ‘Here’s an opportunity to invest not just in a ball team, but in a dynamic rebirth of a downtown.’

Daniels rented or sold the toll road to a private company to raise money, Richard is offering property tax money which can be allocated to special taxing district. The special taxing district will use the increase in taxes from the increase in property values during a reassessment to pay for projects. This property tax increase is called TIF for short.

TIF is the diverting of revenue from the payment of property tax funds after a property value increases. If there is a the property increase more than likely so will the property tax increase. The City will keep the old amount for budget purpose and keep the difference from the increase in property tax to place into a general funds to be spent in the special district only.

But I thought the property tax was for schools, housing, you say. Yeah, but the legislators established authority to set up a commission to be responsible for directing any redevelopment commission to designate any area as a blighted area that can be developed through the ordinary operations of private enterprise including non-blighted areas for economic development. Where were you when Belmont was fighting this thing? Or the scheme of ripping off the owners' value in the Southtown Property to be used later by the public-private sector of Fort Wayne that went all the way to the Indiana Supreme Court?

Is this not the same as the families who lived in the Harrison Square area. TIF is supposed to be for the temporary allocation of redevelopment or economic district of the citizens property taxes to be used for a variety of purposes to improve the areas.

Municipal bonds are then issued to finance the public improvements. Bonds payable from TIF may be used to finance the cost of redevelopment and the construction of public improvement in the redevelopment area or for projects that directly serve or benefit that area. Once the bonds have been paid off, the taxes collected from the allocated area are distributed to the remaining taxing districts, such as schools.

TIF districts are to encourage developers to invest in dying business areas or in land banked industrial sites. Some requirements are for developers to diversify development beyond retail, connect to downtown with transportation, help existing business grow and expand, and foster economic development by assisting entrepreneurs in the area with start up and strengthen the economic base in the area.

Harrison square is sold as the public benefit and all the improvement as the catalyst attempting to duplicate Atlanta's popular Georgia Aquarium, billed as the largest as well as a museum dedicated to a soft drink company, according to the article.

Within four years, the $2 billion Allen Plaza is planned to have five other buildings in adjacent blocks that would house offices, apartments, condos, retail outlets and another hotel, all built by Barry or in partnership with Atlanta apartment landlord Post Properties.

Helping spark this revival, across from the park, is the year-old, hugely popular Georgia Aquarium, billed as the world’s largest,
and the new World of Coca-Cola, a museum under construction dedicated to the soft drink.

One City Council member, Tom Smith does not oppose the stadium being built downtown, but questions the private developers mere $5 million contribution. But Smith does not go deep enough, the public-private dollars are more like, the property owners would pay with their property taxes, $82 millions and the private owners $43 millions for the entire project.

There is nothing complicated about understanding TIF dollars. The question is where does TIF dollars come from? Answer, TIF comes from property tax after a reassessment. If you were paying $90 in property tax dollars on your property in 2001 and your property taxes increases to $270 in 2003 there is a difference. Well, the City will freeze their portion at $90 and put the remaining $180 into a general fund. The $180 is marked off as TIF to be spent just in that special district. But as the Journal-Gazette points out the success of Apple Glen and Jefferson Point as TIF and used the money from those special district to give some downtown project some of the money. But that is not how it works. This is not too much different from when the county borrowed from Hersey company and gave to General Motors abatement issues.

Wait you need to know some of these TIF special districts? Let's see:

Jefferson Pointe area, Midtown Crossing, Baer Field Economic Development Area(EDA), Centennial Park, Jefferson/Illinois EDA, Maysville Stellhorn Road EDA, Summit Industrial Park. And lets not forget the Bluffton Road area that includes General Motors, Fort Wayne Assembly. Do you understand why downtown looks like a desolate valley?

Why siphon away parts of property taxes and place into a general funds because your tax dollars can helps improve selected area instead of amenities that makes for a better quality life for all of Fort Wayne citizens. The money would pay for schools, library, housing in our city. But, tax payers don't want to subsides the lives of the poor while they giving handouts to the rich in the amount of $83 million. So, the millions of dollar that are collected in the General Motors area benefits that area not the whole city. Jefferson Pointe taxes benefit that area only not the whole city. But we offer these businesses abatements and other stuff. So what is the city doing with your property tax dollars if not paying to improve schools, giving it to developers to encourage them to take a risk in big ticket items in our city. So why is the City saying it's not increasing property taxes to build the stadium. Because it sounds good.

Now imagine this community of dreamers if you didn't have a special project where would the money go that's in the general funds? It would go toward the schools that the city is telling you that will cost billions of dollars to fix up? What do you think developers should invest in first, building for educating people rather than buildings for recreation?

Are you still with me? The City is saying it will have to raise taxes to fix schools, but.......(you need a moment to digest this)....the tax dollars from the new increase will still go into the general funds and the schools will get some of the property tax increase. That's right the new increases will benefit the special projects and not much to the schools. You elected these folks, while your children suffer. And why the Mayor is enjoying his new $130,000 salary. It's your money

Survival Instinct

The City of Fort Wayne is going into business with Hardball Capital, a group based in Atlanta, to build condominiums in downtown Fort Wayne. The owners of the Fort Wayne Wizards, a minor league baseball team, will enter into a memorandum of understanding with the city as developers. The Fort Wayne Wizards was sold to a group headed by Chris Schoen, a real estate developer, attorney Jason Freier and 10 other investors in February, 2006, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle. According to Atlanta Business Chronicle, Barry Real Estate Companies, Inc. was founded in 1996 and Barry Real Estate Companies, "[a]ll told, the company has about 18 projects in various stages of development -- the most in the history of the firm.

Other notable projects by Barry Real Estate include:

The Crown at Symphony Place in Nashville, Tenn. The 34-story, 600,000-square-foot office tower designed by Jon Pickard will be next to the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Delivery date is the first quarter of 2009.
Prospect Park in Alpharetta. Barry Real Estate will develop about 1 million square feet of office space on 22.5 acres of the 100-acre mixed-use Prospect Park. Delivery date is 2008.
Alpharetta Town Center in Alpharetta. The company will build a new City Hall on 9 acres as part of a mixed-use redevelopment of downtown that will include 81,000 square feet of retail, 157 condos and 48,000 square feet of office space. Delivery date is December 2008.
Overton Park in Atlanta's Cobb/Galleria submarket, which will include a 160-room hotel and 60 condominium units at the second phase of Overton Park, a 34-acre, mixed-use community at Cumberland Boulevard and Interstate 75. Madison Retail LLC will develop 55,000 square feet of retail at the site. Delivery date is December 2008."

Next year, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, "On the residential side, Barry Real Estate and Post Properties Inc. (NYSE: PPS) are teaming up to build Post at Allen Plaza, which will include 330 apartments, 150 condos and a 200-room suite hotel across from the new World of Coke. Construction will begin in the first half of next year. That project, along with condominium developer Novare Group Inc.'s TWELVE Centennial Park hotel and condo project, and the residences in the W, will bring the district to as many as 3,000 homes."

This was after years of quietly assembling the requisite land, according to the article.

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, there is a vast amount of land bordering Jefferson Boulevard, Harrison, Brackenridge and Ewing streets that the city will provide in the deal. According to the News-Sentinel, "Phase 1, which will include a hotel, 8,000-seat minor-league stadium, 1,000-space parking garage, park, 30,000 square feet of street-level shops and 60 condos, will be located on about 30 acres bounded by Jefferson Boulevard to the north, Ewing Street to the west, Harrison Street to the east and Brackenridge Street to the south. Agreements are already in place to acquire the necessary property, Becker said, although Bill’s Palace restaurant at 1202 S. Harrison St. has not agreed to sell and will remain."

The public will contribute about 50% of the dollars, according to the city's website. "Project costs for the initial phase, including land and infrastructure, would be around $125 million. Approximately 50% of the total project cost would come from public sources. The remaining 50% would be privately financed. When all phases of the project are completed, it’s expected that the overall costs would be 60% private and 40% public."

The website states these public funds won't come from property taxes. So my questions is if not from property taxes than wherefore from thine willet spring forth thee public funds come from? From the sky?

At the same time a local developer decides to forgo turning the downtown holiday inn into condominiums. Bill Bean cites the cost of buying and overhauling the building would be just too much for a leasing project. I suspect the three millions in tax credits to renovate the holiday will shift to the new project under the memorandum of understanding. And the brownfield development program funds that was to clean up and build housing in the Creighton-Hanna will more than likely shift toward the downtown area.

We did hear that somehow over 800 gallons of oils recently went undetected under the brand new spanking Allen County Library. The Library, just so happen to have sold some land to the city. 'head shaking' I enclose this here because I thought brownfield funds were for environment cleaning area.so what's up?

Oh and the city will borrow $45 million with a bond to contribute to the revitalization of downtown. What about all that TIF money for the area where is it going? I still trying to figure out the name of the new stadium..Richard Stadium?!



Click here to see an artist rendition of the Harrison SQ.