xmpt wrote:
LaughingAtLakeCo wrote:
As always, when dealing with Hammond/Gary/East Chicago/Whiting, the "ifs" are mighty big. See Woodmar, the K-Mart Plaza, Cabela's, and that God-forsaken apartment complex, whatever it was called.
Good point. How much property tax was the golf club paying, especially being assessed as farm land. How mush was Kmart paying after they closed down? As you well know the same private developer owns Kmart and Woodmar, have some patience and I think you will see the results of not developing when given tax incentives. If you want to argue the disadvantages of closing a crime ridden aparmtent complex you'll have to do that by yourself.
And how much development has the TIFF for Cabela's brought in? It's now been 5 years since Cabela's opened and not a single outlot has been filled. No hotel ... where is the waterpark?
Wasn't the Mayor's line that Interstate Plaza was the most valuable property in the City? I guess Burlington Coat Factory doesn't know a value when they see it.
7 years later and Woodmar is just a shell.
The Walmart property has now been open a year and not a single outlot has been started on. What happened to the 2 hotels and 3 restaurants that were promised in the original proposal?
In 2007, there were 37 TIFF's in the City of Hammond. The vast majority of them at that point were initiated by McDermott Sr and Dedelow. But since that time McDermott Jr has entered into a number of TIFF agreements while others were closed.
Tiff's only work when they draw broad development brought in by an initial tax incentive. How long do we need to wait for the development benefits of a TIFF before calling it a bust? 3 years? 5 years? 7 years?
So why not just call McDermott Jr's supposed Economic Developments what they are .... Failures!