the yard

[Guest]

word in the yard is that the yard is now going to be a sea of parking.  thanks a lot all you little whiny girls.  the yard was going to be an excellent place holder but now we have a sea of parking with no time line for development.

[Guest]

word in the yard is that the yard is now going to be a sea of parking.  thanks a lot all you little whiny girls.  the yard was going to be an excellent place holder but now we have a sea of parking with no time line for development.

If this is true.................................................................................................................BHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  

[StreetsOfOmaha]

As far as I'm concerned, whether it's "the Yard," a parking lot, or a vacant weed garden (currently), it's the same level of uselessness.

[justnick]

It's Tip Top overflow parking at the moment anyways.
Difference? None.

[Brad]

Enough of the name calling.  Just because you disagree with streets doesn't mean you can revert to elementary school name calling.  90% of this forum doesn't agree and you don't see them calling names...

However....  Aaron, They are not all the same.

Right now that land for tax purposes is valued about 1.7million
If it becomes parking, that will probably double and also bring in a little sales tax (300 cars @ $8 a car x 7% = $168 in sales tax)
If the land becomes "The Yard" the value will probably double again plus bring in a lot of sales tax.  (Figure $10,000 MINIMUM per day of the CWS, there is a minimum $700 a day added to the sales tax revenue.

Also as the guest said.  The Yard was going to get either a 5 or 10 year permit and then they would need to go before the city to do anything else...  If they build a parking lot they can keep it a parking lot forever and there is nothing that could be done about it.  

Also, think about the exposure the neighborhood would get.  I know of one company that was already thinking it would be an awesome place to have their summer party there.  That would bring new people to the area, generate interest in the area and help more permanent structures grow.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

Did I miss something? Some thread deletes or something?

Anyway, Brad I definitely realize there is a difference in monetary terms when you only consider the bottom line, but in terms what those mentioned uses add to the quality of life of those in the neighborhood or to the "urban experience" on the street, they are absolutely base and worthless and as far as I'm concerned they decrease the value of Downtown and North Downtown.

[Brad]

Did I miss something? Some thread deletes or something?

Yes... Worthless posts by guests were deleted.

[S33]

Yes, and that vast open green space from Midtown Manhattan all the way to the Upper West Side is useless, too. The Yard would have been the perfect place holder for that lot, and at the very least, for the reasons mentioned above.

[Big E]

...double post...

[Big E]

Hmmm... too bad there weren't some simple zoning ordinances in place to avoid this.

We didn't spend $120M for |expletive| place-holders OR parking lots.

[Brad]

better than spending $120 million for a lot full of weeks with a strip of gravel on one end.

We spent $120 million to promote growth and something is better than nothing.  I want a 5 story building there as much as anyone, but with the |expletive| economy I will take what I can get.  

Two big factors...  A.  Jerry Banks is not new to town, not some fly by night contractor.  He has established himself in this city and has other projects to show for it.  B.  He owned that land before the ballpark was even announced so its not like he is jumping on the CWS gravy train like other places in the area will.

[S33]

I guess my question is this: In lieu of a complete lack of development demand, what else would some of you have preferred?

I think that ideally a developer would prefer a large-scale project be underway rather than counting on what will most likely be minimal margins and returns from 2 weeks of liquor sales. Between their vendors' cut, land upkeep, alcohol and other permits, and other misc. capital they have tied up in the land, I'm not seeing Exxon style profits here...

[Big E]

Look across the street.  That can happen but the best anyone can come up with on the other side is a beer garden or parking lot?

I simply don't buy there isn't a demand for development, particularly in that area.  Based on what Brad said, I'm thinking we might be dealing with the Scaffolding Museum District.  It's starting to look like a lot of the inventory is going to be squatted on for awhile by people with the means to do something but simply choose not to, or people with unrealistic ideas of the value of their land standing in the way of a developer that will do something.  Maybe a combination of both.

[S33]

Look, the closest I've come to involving myself with commercial development is renting office space, so its safe to say I don't know a whole lot about it. But you still cannot ignore the facts. Where there is money to be made, there usually will be. You can't blame them for squatting on an asset until they feel they can get its optimum value.

I'm guessing it's pretty rare for a person with unrealistic ideas of the value of their land to own such a prime piece of real estate.

[Big E]

The point is if that land had been zoned for "multi-story mixed use" (or whatever you want to call it) in conjunction with the master plan/stadium, the Yard placeholder or a permanent parking lot are never even a part of the discussion.  If they want to squat on it within those parameters, fine.  (It still sucks balls, but fine.)  Like you said, at some point someone will come along with enough money/vision to do something with it... within the parameters of the zoning.

If a Mayor can come in and say "Poof! You're in a new tax zone!" (like the downtown BID), I see no logical reason why land can't be rezoned, particularly if it is as dormant as that has been for so long, ahead of a major project like that.

This is all speculative right now, anyway, unless someone can put some more credibility behind the posts of "Guest".

[S33]

This is all speculative right now, anyway, unless someone can put some more credibility behind the posts of "Guest".

Exactly, considering the amount of local media attention The Yard drew, I'm guessing we would have heard something by now.

[c-dub]

The project is definitely in flux right now.  The applicant is playing a bit or hardball and has essentially said they might just do a lot or do absolutely nothing.

[the1wags]

[nebugeater]

HINT:  Joined: 01 Apr 2011

[Guest]

[almighty_tuna]

HINT:  Joined: 01 Apr 2011

You didn't even wait for Streets to complain about bike racks in the new lots!  

[StreetsofAlbany]

Where's the mother-f*cking bike racks?! I say Bike RACKS!!! Where's the BIKE RACKSKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HskrFanMike]

Since this thread has been revived, might as well mention that they started grading this site yesterday.  It's now a sea of dirt from Fahey to Cuming; 14th to 15th, with several pieces of construction equipment currently at work.

[cdub]

They have a building permit for their parking lot.