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 Post subject: MAYOR'S MONUMENT UNTO HIMSELF
PostPosted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:57 pm 
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Klien never got to build his castle on the old high school property, now it seems to be Uran's turn to try and put his name on it.

C.P. to give downtown a face-lift
BY KATHLEEN QUILLIGAN
Kathleen.Quilligan@nwitimes.com
219.662.5331 |

Quote:
Nice spin by Kathy, trying to label it as a "facelift", last time I checked that was an elective surgery.


CROWN POINT | Downtown Crown Point will get an extreme makeover in the form of a new city hall, underground parking facilities and retail stores, Mayor David Uran said Tuesday.

"We're trying to enhance the quality of life for our residents," he said.

Quote:
How does this enhance the quality of my life as a resident?


Uran said since he took office in January, he's been working on plans for a new downtown project that will be introduced in more detail at Monday's Redevelopment Commission meeting. He said preliminary plans will be presented Monday and will begin to address specifics such as square footage and price structures in a feasibility study.

The complex will stretch along East Street from Robinson Court to Joliet Street, and the city is part of a partnership that is currently working on acquiring the properties.[partnership?] Uran said the underground garage will provide 400 to 500 new parking spaces along the east side of the square, and the new city hall would bring the engineering department back downtown from its current location on Broadway.[why?] All of the buildings will be LEED certified, a benchmark for high-performing green buildings.

While Uran said it was too early to discuss even a ballpark figure for how much the project would cost[CYA], the project area was included in the expansion of the tax increment financing district the Redevelopment Commission approved in May. He said the project will not use residential taxpayer dollars. The city will host workshops to update residents on the progress of the complex that Uran hopes will be completed in three years.

Uran made the announcement to members of the City Council on Monday night to let them know they would hopefully be seeing the feasibility study at their July meeting. He said the project would enhance the synergy of downtown[better break out your boots!] and keep the downtown strong for the next 100 to 150 years, even as other parts of the city continue to grow.





It certainly will be interesting to compare and contrast the approval process for this publicly funded project, with the hurdles and obstacles endured by the condos they are trying to build at Walnut and Main St.

Yes?

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“At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child — miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.”
P.J. O'Rourke


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 Post subject: Re: MAYOR'S MONUMENT UNTO HIMSELF
PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:35 pm 
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Given that the last mayor lost the election in part due to his plans to "tear down the square" this seems politically risky for a mayor who to date has won praise from most CP citizens. Investing in our downtown is a good thing. Crown Point is outgrowing the current city hall. We could use some more parking downtown. The key is how to implement these goals without getting carried away and putting a major burden on the taxpayers. Uran says that the project will not use residential taxpayer dollars. I am curious how he proposes building this infrastructure without any residential taxpayer dollars.


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 Post subject: Re: MAYOR'S MONUMENT UNTO HIMSELF
PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:43 am 
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Development plan for East Street has $100,000 to use


CROWN POINT -- Mayor David Uran secured $100,000 for his East Street development plan during Monday's Redevelopment Commission meeting.
The money, $50,000 from the city and $50,000 from four undisclosed developers[Why do YOU suppose that they are undisclosed? If you were doing something to help your community, wouldn't that be good for business?], will be used for further feasibility studies, artist renderings and animations of the proposed project. The plan currently includes a new city hall, public library, businesses [There are numerous empty store fronts both on the square and an entire building's worth in the Jewel parking lot, do we need to expend tax dollars to create more?] and underground parking along East Street, between Robinson Court and Joliet Street.

Monday was the first time Uran spoke publicly about the plan [Why not disclose it from the begining?], which he said has been in the works since January[Which is when he took office,why didn't he float this idea, as he was campaigning?]. Uran said he foresees this to be a three-year project with construction starting in January.[Hope you don't need to go to the post office or drop off your water bill for the next three years]

Uran told the commission more land would be needed along the planned East Street area.[Of course!] Though the commission gave no opinion on acquiring more land and set no date for voting on the project [How convieniant!], Councilman Robert Corbin said he saw no reason why the council shouldn't investigate the project's feasibility further, recommending the commission approve Uran's request for the $50,000.[Where is this coming from? It's waste like the Lakota Plan all over again]

Mentioned in conjunction with the East Street plan was a plan to build trolley stops around the city equipped with call stations to call a trolley. The intention is to better use the city's one trolley as an affordable means of local transportation.[So it will run at nights and on weekends to take the drunks home?]

Each station would have a clock tower and emulate the Victorian style of the courthouse, said Tarik El-Naggar of In Architects & Planners Inc. The stations would cost roughly $40,000 to $60,000 a piece[Are you kidding me, for "trolley stops"?], El-Naggar said.

The plans are for what would ultimately be four phases with several accompanying elements, Uran said, all focused on giving residents downtown services and businesses they need to keep commerce within the city.[We took care of that by stopping Klien from bringing in a Wal-Mart]

"Everyone says we're 5 to 10 minutes away from Merrillville [That is a misleading statement, The Mall, Target, Home Depot, etc. are in Hobart, there is nothing left in Merrillville]and they thank you for your dollars," Uran said. "How do we pay for our roads?"[By not squandering money building million dollar beer gardens next to The Circle, and $60,000.00 Trolley stops!]

Corbin and other council members expressed concern that Uran was competing for an aging population set in their spending habits.

"We're not competing for the same dollar," Uran said. "We're competing for the next generation of dollars."[Merrillville said the same thing in the 1990's, been North of US30 lately?]

_________________
“At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child — miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.”
P.J. O'Rourke


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 Post subject: Re: MAYOR'S MONUMENT UNTO HIMSELF
PostPosted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:15 pm 
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Oh Lord... Uran sounds like Klein incarnate!! :bs:

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 Post subject: Re: MAYOR'S MONUMENT UNTO HIMSELF
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:50 pm 
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There isn't enough room for a big retailer as an anchor in the area. I don't see how it would work. Maybe they will bring back S.O.B.'s and the two-fers after 10pm!!! BTW, (off-topic), I went for a haircut at Saylor's Saturday morning. The sidewalk in front of The Registry was full of dried puke. Is there an ordinance holding the bar owner responsible for clean up? And no, I don't believe it was someone from one of the restaurants.

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