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August 9, 2008
Forest City in the News
The Cleveland Free Times, Is It Miller Time?
The Feds Are Examining A County Deal Involving Forest City
When FBI agents swooped into the county administration building last week, one of their top priorities was to confiscate documents related to the ongoing Juvenile Justice Center construction project, according to the search warrant. Details of the deals that led to the placement of the new juvie jail and courthouse, at East 93rd and Quincy, are full of political favors and opportunism, but no one has benefited more than Sam Miller and Forest City.
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Soil tests [at the site] revealed high concentrations of a chemical called Aroclor 1260, a substance known to cause miscarriages and brain damage in children (both of which had been on the rise in the area, residents contended). Mayor Mike White called the site "the worst environmental hazard in the city."
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In 1999, Sunrise Land Company, a little-used subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, bought most of the parcels at 93rd and Quincy for $383,571 at public auction.
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Shortly after Forest City's purchase, White suggested that the county build the new juvenile courthouse on the property, even though it was not one of the sites recommended by a search committee and even though the PCBs had still not been cleaned up.In early 2000, then-county commissioners Timothy McCormack, Jane Campbell and Jimmy Dimora approved the purchase of the land from Forest City for $2.75 million. Strangely, one of the parcels that the county agreed to purchase from Forest City on February 29 was not actually purchased by Forest City until the next day. And the deal was contingent on an environmental cleanup, which apparently never happened.
NoLandGrab: With a federal probe into Forest City Ratner's Ridge Hill deal in Yonkers, that makes two federal investigations into Forest City deals that have been in the news in recent months.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tower City site recommended for Medical Mart
Riverfront land behind Tower City has been picked as the best location for Cleveland's proposed medical mart and new convention center.
A selection committee made its recommendation today to Cuyahoga County commissioners. Commissioners passed a one-quarter of a cent sales tax increase last year to finance the project and have final say on the location.
The riverfront property, owned by Forest City Enterprises, was selected over renovating and expanding Cleveland's current convention center on Lakeside Avenue to also house the mart.
NoLandGrab: It's a win-win for Forest City! Keep in mind that Forest City owns and operates Tower City, which would benefit financially from a deal to build a convention center close by.
Crain's Cleveland, GCP favors Tower City for convention complex
The cost to develop the Tower City site is estimated at $536 million, compared with $583 million at the existing convention center location.
Besides the lower cost, the Tower City site will offer convention attendees all-weather access to hotels, shopping and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport via rapid transit. That factor, Mr. Nance said, is important for a convention center in a cold-weather city to attract conventions in the winter months.
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Mr. Nance predicted that the project “will change the economic direction of the entire county.”
NoLandGrab: Good luck — by raising the county sales tax 0.25%, the project, for better or worse, will definitely "change the economic direction of the entire county," especially when there is a perennial glut of convention space in the United States.
Cleveland Plain Dealer (blog), Willoughby apartment complex goes on the market
Forest City Enterprises Inc. and Millennium Management have put a Willoughby apartment complex up for sale. Tamarac, a community of 642 apartments on Tamarac Boulevard, is being shopped around at an asking price of $48.5 million. The companies co-own the apartment complex, which is 99 percent occupied.
Posted by lumi at August 9, 2008 6:59 PM