It’s pretty discouraging when you have to depend on the greedy to save you.
However, maybe greed will save us. Forest City Enterprises and Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. (MMPI) are locked in a deadly battle of which one will be able to pocket those hundreds of millions of dollars for a Medical Mart and new Convention Center.
Nothing like having rich, greedy developers in a high-stakes scuffle. Don’t you just love seeing all that developer gluttony on display on the front page?
Forest City isn’t giving up. MMPI may have the County Commissioners. But Sam and the boys won’t go gracefully.
I’m happy about that since there’s no citizen group here to stop the constant give-away of public funds to private interests.
Maybe we can count on greed to help us.
Forest City – Sam Miller and the Ratners – say that the ceilings are too low in the Mall plan of MMPI and there isn’t enough parking. You’d think they could come up with better criticisms but I’ll take what I can get.
I remember that the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) plan for the Forest City/Cuyahoga River site called for a stingy 925 parking slots.
As I have said before, once we pay nearly a billion (including interest) for the Medical Mart and Convention center there will have to be more parking. A new parking garage, we need it, must have it!
Who will pay for the parking? You.
There will also be a need for a convention sized hotel.
Who will pay for the hotel? You.
Let’s hope the two big and greedy sides slug it out until there’s no decision. Until they knock each other out.
That’s a fighting decision I’d appreciate.